The Kill
by Of Broken Love
Summary: He will stop at nothing to get her, despite her opinion on the matter. Uchiha Madara is a sadistic bastard who will do anything to get what he wants...and all he wants is her. Rated M for a reason; Dark; Rape/NonCon and all kinds of twisted things. You are warned. See Profile.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone!

I completely revamped The Kill. I didn't feel like I did such a good job on it, so this time I'm making it better. It's completely different but has the same story line. I hope you all like it better, because I know I do!

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**Prologue**

**Watashihitori de Kozan**

**"Mine and Mine Alone"**

"Send Takahashi-san up to the office. Now, and don't keep me waiting."

Uchiha Madara was a patient man—when he was not trifled with. Takahashi Ume had pushed her luck with him one too many times. The woman was certainly a valuable asset when she wasn't giving her own opinion on matters. It was obvious she thought she knew better and had a right to say something about it—which meant she needed to be put in her place.

She was his secretary, not his mother, and his mother was long since dead.

The quiet ticking of the clock he found strangely soothing as he flipped through the file folder for which he had accumulated many documents over the course of the past three years. It contained mundane things such as a photocopy of a birth certificate, social security information, and thumbprint scans—nothing of real importance to him. What concerned him were the photographs of the lovely young lady he would soon call his own.

Her short pink hair reflected her spunky and cheerful personality while her green eyes shone with a wisdom and intelligence beyond her twenty years of age. Her facial structure was elegant, with her straight nose, thin eyebrows, and full lips. Her cheekbones were high, giving her a heart-shaped face that he had long ago begun to desire. With every day that desire grew, unendingly, and he knew that he would need to act soon to obtain his prize.

Her body wasn't of a goddess, with only a full B cup although she had proportional hips that were full and ready for childbirth. However, Madara had been with enough 'goddesses' to know that the fullness of a body was unimportant if one didn't know how to use it. He had slept with plenty of Tokyo's most beautiful women—models, actresses, singers, and so on—and they certainly knew how to use their body. But there was always something missing.

The young woman, a virgin, would be easily his to mold to his liking. As far as he knew, she had only kissed one person, and that was one of her greatest regrets. He knew she had been saving it for a certain someone else…but that was unimportant. There was no competition for her. The feelings she held for his young relative were a nonissue, as Uchiha Sasuke was barely a man and nowhere near ready for the relationship she needed; the relationship that Madara could give. Sasuke may have secretly returned her feelings, but again, it was unimportant. He was an Uchiha, and as head of the Uchiha family, the unfortunate boy would be forced to obey his elder's decisions.

_She_ would be forced to obey his decisions, as soon as she became an Uchiha…and this was one thing he _did not_ have the patience for.

Haruno Sakura had always wanted to be an Uchiha, he knew, as she had been pining for Sasuke ever since they began to go to school together in lower secondary school. He had met her then and seen it for himself, although at the time it had been nothing to him. Sasuke had been something of an obsession for her, but to his great displeasure he found that when he had taken interest in her, at her age of seventeen, her infatuation had turned to a love disguised as friendship. It had disturbed him at the time that she was so committed to Sasuke she would stop chasing him if only to be friends, for the sake of any relationship at all with him.

Now that he had made up his mind about her, however, it would only ever been friendship, if he allowed even that. He had contemplated a restraining order on the boy, in case he ever decided to come close to her.

Haruno Sakura would be an Uchiha, as she had always wished, but it would not be to Sasuke she would be married.

It would be to him.

She was his and his alone.

There was a light rapping on the door and Madara observed that Ume had taken her sweet, sweet time coming up. Yes, she had been on her lunch break, but unfortunately for her he wasn't pay her to eat; he was paying her to work for him at any time, any place.

"Come in," he said tersely. The door opened and in walked Takahashi Ume.

She was tall and curvaceous, with short, crew-cut dyed red hair. She had eyes a similar color to Sakura's, with the exception that Sakura's shone with beauty and love while Ume had hard, conniving eyes. Madara could openly state that he and Ume were of the same mindset, but she was still below him and that needed to be made clear.

"You called, Madara-sama?" Her deep, almost masculine voice was somewhat defiant. Madara frowned; she had certainly gotten out of line recently.

"Sit." It was an order.

Ume nodded and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. They were burgundy leather with a mahogany wood frame, matching his desk and chair and complimenting the large office's cream colored walls and black-and-crimson themes.

He let her sit there for a good long time, wasting away her lunch hour while he went back to browsing Sakura's file. Her GPA at Tokyo University was a proud 4.0, but that was not surprising. Madara would not just marry any girl off the street—she had to be intelligent, mature, and all-around perfect. Indeed, everything that Sakura was.

Ume didn't dare clear her throat, as she had been taught to be respectful to her elders, even if that had been faltering as of late. Madara glanced at the clock. Yes, she only had about ten minutes left of her lunch break at this point, which meant that by the time they were done talking she would be expected to work again. It was just as he had intended.

"Takahashi-san. Your performance as of late has been lacking." His voice was cold.

Ume raised her eyebrow, another subtle act of rebellion that he did not appreciate. He frowned as she began to speak. "What makes you say that, Madara-sama?"

His frown deepened. "Exactly that. Your attitude is far from exemplary and that is not tolerated at Uchiha Corp. It brings down the work ethic of my employees." Madara allowed himself a frigid, sarcastic smile. "We wouldn't want that, would we?"

Ume glared, which he matched with an even more intimidating expression. After a long moment, she averted her eyes and submitted to his authority, which pleased him. She still knew who was in charge.

"With all due respect, Madara-sama," Ume said slowly, "I have reason to believe that your particular ethics are lacking, as well."

Madara looked at her, unconcerned by her statement. "You read the file."

Ume nodded. "Yes, Madara-sama, and all I can say is that what you're doing is wrong. She's young—twenty years old! That's not old enough to marry someone like you. You're-"

Madara laughed suddenly, bringing her to a complete halt. She looked at him, questioningly rather than angrily.

"Are you married yourself, Ume-chan?" His condescending tone was meant to be insulting, as well as the content of his words. Ume blanched, then reddened.

"You know the reasons behind my-"

"_Are you married?"_ He immediately switched from condescending to a threat most others wouldn't dream of confronting.

To her credit, Ume didn't flinch, but the look on her face was enough to tell she had been put in her place. "No, Madara-sama," she said quietly. "I never will be."

"Then you should reevaluate how you judge others. You may not approve of my actions, but remember this—you are not involved, and you never will be. If I find out that you have slandered me in any way, you will find yourself buried in a lawsuit so fast you won't be able to collect your next paycheck before you find yourself unemployed for the rest of your life. Am I clear?"

Ume did not make eye contact with him, which was good, but she also did not speak.

"_Am I clear?_" he repeated harshly.

"Yes, Madara-sama." Her tone was soft and defeated. He had played dirty this time—but then again, Madara was never one to follow the rules.

"Very well then," he said, suddenly pleasant. "I will expect the merger proposal for Konoha, Inc. to be ready by tomorrow. Set up a meeting with Senju Tsunade for as soon as possible."

"Yes, Madara-sama," Ume replied automatically. Her disrespectful antics were no more.

"Dismissed," Madara said, waving her off. "Oh, and _Ume-chan._"

She had stood and turned to leave, but she looked back over her shoulder at him.

"If I ever discover you to have gone through my files again, I will fire you for invasion of privacy. As you well know, a discrepancy as such will also hinder you from being hired anywhere other than…what is that American restaurant? McDonald's?" Madara laughed coldly.

"Understood, Madara-sama," Ume said, reddening once more, but in embarrassment.

"That is all."

Ume nodded robotically and then left the room, the door clicking shut behind her. Madara instantly returned to the Haruno Sakura's file, murmuring to himself, "Soon you will be mine, Sakura-chan.

"Mine, and mine alone."

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Nothing too bad yet, but it won't stay like this for long. If you're interested in my continuing, please let me know via PM or review! Obviously, if you hate it, you don't have to say anything. Flames will be ignored, of course. Madara's not too bad so far, but I just wanted to give people a taste of his corruptness.

Cheers!

~Of Broken Love~


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone!

This is actually going to be longer than I intended, now that I'm rewriting it. I hope everyone's happy about that - I know I am!

By the way, things will be moving at a slightly slower pace now because I want to make things more realistic. I apologize in advance to all those who like little detail, but I think more content is better, right?

Anyways, on with the show!

Cheers!

~Of Broken Love~

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**Chapter One**

**Futōmeina Jidai**

**"Uncertain Times"**

Haruno Sakura sat at her usual table at her favorite coffee shop, nursing a cooling cup of tea. She had already burnt her tongue on the hot liquid, so as she waited for her friends, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke to meet up with her, she had decided to let it cool.

She had a lot on her mind, specifically financial problems. It was getting to be ridiculous; even though her adoptive father, Hatake Kakashi, was working overtime every day at his job, there simply wasn't enough money coming in. Along with the fact that she hadn't won the scholarship she so desperately needed to pay for Tokyo University's medical program and her loans weren't stretching as far as she thought they would, it was turning into a major issue. She didn't want Kakashi to have to declare bankruptcy over her schooling, but she didn't want to give up her dreams either and settle for being a nurse instead of a pediatrician, as she had dreamed ever since she could remember. She knew he would gladly do anything to make her happy, but seeing him come home late at night and stressed every single day wore on her conscience. He was afraid of bankruptcy as well—their credit wasn't good and that would only make it worse.

"Sakura-chan!"

Naruto's cheerful voice broke her out of her depressed reverie and she looked up, smiling genuinely.

"Hey, Naruto-kun! Where's Sasuke?"

"He's outside. Talking to some girl." He made a face. "I don't get him. Why does he need a girlfriend? He has you."

Sakura's heart cracked a little at Naruto's words. He could be so oblivious sometimes. Even though his words weren't meant to be hurtful, Naruto didn't know about her love for Sasuke. No one did, except Kakashi. She couldn't risk the blonde accidentally telling Sasuke, as it would totally ruin their still-shaky friendship. Even though it had been four years since she'd gotten over her fangirl phase, it was still hard for Sasuke to totally trust her. She knew he had every right to doubt her motivations, but she wanted to be close to him in any way it could—even if it meant sacrificing her own feelings. Something was better than nothing right?

Naruto sat down at the table, noticing Sakura's glum look. "Everything alright, Sakura-chan? Things going alright at home?"

Sakura was glad for Naruto's misinterpretation of her mood. "No, nothing's alright. Otou-san is still trying to pay rent and my loans are running out." She kept it concise, not wanting to divulge into it too much. It was even worse that Sasuke was flirting with this other girl _and_ everything was so uncertain at the moment. It was rubbing salt into an open wound, but she should have expected it. Could nothing go right for her?

"Oh." Naruto looked a little lost for words, but he quickly recovered. "Well, I'm sure something will work out!" His optimistic attitude was refreshing and Sakura was relieved.

"Yeah, I'm sure something will."

At that moment, Sasuke walked in with a beautiful red-haired girl trailing behind. "Mind if Karin joins us?" he asked, glancing at Sakura mainly.

He was expecting her to get jealous, to ruin her 'façade' of not loving him. Did he really not trust her that much?

She was jealous indeed, but instead of glowering at the girl who was smiling brightly, she grinned and said, "That's perfect! I get tired of being the only girl here." She winked at Naruto, missing the flash of something hidden in his eyes.

"Hi! I'm Karin! It's so nice to meet you!" She bowed slightly, first at Naruto and then at Sakura. There seemed something off about the girl, but Sakura wasn't about to say anything. This was hard enough as it was.

Sasuke pulled up a chair for Karin, allowing her to sit down in his before taking his seat. Sakura winced inwardly. She wanted to leave. This was unexpected and horrible and completely uncalled for. Didn't he value her and Naruto's time? He could ask the girl on a date separately; he didn't have to invite her to _their_ time.

Naruto looked at Karin and waved, but said nothing. Sakura put on her best smile and said, "It's nice to meet you too, Karin!"

Karin grinned, but it wasn't real. Sakura immediately got the impression Karin didn't like her and decided she didn't like Karin either. She would be nice nonetheless, if only for Sasuke's sake.

They began to talk, Karin giving her two cents more than needed. Sakura eventually shut down as Sasuke actually responded to Karin and basically ignored her comments. It was like she wasn't even there and it was really hurting her.

She knew he didn't like her like that, but he could in the very least _respect_ her.

Finally, after Karin touched Sasuke's shoulder too intimating for Sakura's comfort, she decided to get out before she broke down.

"Hey, I'm going to take off. It was nice seeing you, Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun, and it was so great to meet you, Karin. Maybe we'll see each other again sometime?" _But hopefully not_, she couldn't stop herself from thinking. If Sasuke was going to date the voluptuous, beautiful redhead, he could at least not bring her around to every one of their meetings.

Suddenly Naruto spoke up. "Hey, don't you guys have to go and act for Kiba? I thought he was expecting you at…." He paused, glancing at his watch. "Oh! In fifteen minutes!"

Sakura froze. Sasuke was going to invite Karin, she just knew it. She had completely forgotten in her misery, and obviously Sasuke had been too preoccupied with Karin to notice. Sakura shrugged, trying not to appear disappointed she couldn't go home and vent to Ino.

Not about Sasuke, of course, but about her mysterious love whose name she wouldn't divulge to Ino—but Sakura knew her blonde-haired best friend knew. How could she not? They were best friends.

"Yeah, I guess we do," she said. "It's not too far from here, right? I'll see you there, Sasuke."

She was dreading this.

"You're going to walk? In this weather?" Sasuke seemed surprised…for Sasuke, of course.

Sakura glanced outside. It looked like it was about to storm, but she really didn't want to take the bus. They were stuffy and uncomfortable. She would certainly rather walk; she wanted to be alone.

"It'll be fine," she replied with a bright smile. "See you there." She waved and walked off.

She heard Sasuke mumble something but ignored it. It sounded something like a "Hn" but she couldn't be sure—and she reasoned with herself that she didn't care.

As soon as she stepped out into the winter air, she immediately regretted her decision. It was windy and cold, which was not a good combination. However, she defiantly kept walking, knowing that Kiba's studio wasn't too far off.

She still wasn't quite sure what was going on in the play, but Kiba had told her she would love the scene they were shooting that day, so it couldn't be that bad. She hadn't been sure at the time whether he was teasing or not.

All she knew was that Sasuke, Hinata, Shino, and a girl named Kiko were in the movie and that it was a love story where a man cheated on his American wife with a geisha who fell in love with him. Kiba had refused to tell anybody their part, and the more Sakura thought about it, the more she was feeling nervous about the whole thing.

She was shivering with the cold already and there were still five more blocks until she got there.

Today sucked.

Suddenly there was a honking behind her. Sakura turned abruptly to see Sasuke's black Nissan behind her, stopped at the curb. She froze, unable to register what was happening.

He rolled down the window. "Get in the car."

Although she was relieved that Karin wasn't there, she still hesitated. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Get in."

Sakura nodded and then quickly ran over to the heated car. She got inside quickly and Sasuke rolled up the window before merging back into traffic.

Instead of the silent ride that she had expected, Sasuke said, "How do you like Karin?"

She immediately regretted her decision to come along.

"She's great," Sakura said with a bright smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She contemplated asking him if and how much he liked her, but she knew that would border on jealousy and she wasn't quite sure if she even wanted to know the answer.

This time she saw the unreadable look pass over Sasuke's face but was unsure what to make of it. It seemed like frustration, but she knew she was only imagining that.

Finally Sakura broke.

"Do you like her?" She already knew the answer, but in a masochistic way she wanted to hear it for herself. Maybe it would make her affection die down enough to make it bearable. If he was happy with her, then Sakura would be happy for him.

She loved him that much.

Sasuke was silent for a long time and for a second she thought he hadn't heard her. Then, just as they pulled up into the parking lot, he said coldly, "What do you think?"

She was taken aback by the icy anger in his voice. What was going on? She didn't get it at all. What the hell?

However, before she could say anything more he got out of the car. She followed him, understanding that the conversation was clearly over.

She hadn't expected him to react so weirdly. Sakura blanched. Did he know that she wasn't over him? It had been a fair enough question—if he didn't know that she loved him.

They walked, Sakura at least five feet behind him the entire time due to the pace he had set and that she was unwilling to meet, so when they arrived Sakura was surprised that he subtly held the door open for her. However, she supposed it was only fair that he do so. It would have been outright rude to shut it in her face.

They entered the large room where lights were already set up and the stage was set. Kiba looked over at them.

"Sasuke-san! Sakura-chan! What's up?" He grinned toothily. "You guys are just going to _love_ your parts."

He winked surreptitiously at Sakura and she gave him a strange look in return. Then it hit her.

Sasuke was the adulterer.

And she was the geisha.

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Short and sweet, but especially short! Hopefully I can update soon! Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Two:**

**Fukona ****Nyusu**

"**Unfortunate News"**

Dressed as a beautiful geisha, Sakura felt alright, especially because she was wearing a wig and almost unnoticeably herself.

Seeing Sasuke wearing his American tuxedo and looking so handsome she could have fainted—much like Hinata around Naruto—made Sakura a little uncomfortable. The past hour hadn't been so encouraging for her, so seeing him so stunning in his outfit really made her feel a little wobbly.

However, after having read the script and realizing that Kiba hoped to immediately jump to the scene where Tatsuki told Cole that she loved him…

Sakura was not only about cry; she was furious.

"What do you mean, I have to tell him I love him!" she demanded angrily of Kiba, ignoring the exasperated look on Sasuke's face.

Kiba looked intimidated and rightly so, but unfortunately he wasn't going to back down. "Come on, Sakura, you said you wanted to help!"

Sakura rubbed her temples, trying to get her fury under control. She wasn't sure who she was mad at—Kiba, for being a complete dunce, or Kami, for making her life absolute hell.

"Sakura." Sasuke's voice was shockingly not cold or upset. "Just do it. It's no big deal, right?"

She deflated. Of course it wasn't a big deal…to them. This was way too close to her heart to be comfortable.

"Yeah, okay." She didn't say another word, walking away from a stunned Kiba who looked at Sasuke gratefully. Sakura noticed the look and was tempted to give Kiba another piece of her mind, but she refrained.

They assumed their places and the shoot began. It wasn't bad, Sakura decided. All she had to do was look forlorn as "Cole" spoke his part about his wife, who was waiting for him in America. That was alright, except that Sakura felt like all this came way to close to home.

Finally, her part came and she nodded reluctantly. Tears filled her eyes and she wasn't able to maintain them and figured it would have to be cut out afterwards, but they really should have chosen another time for this particular scene.

"But…" Sakura blushed when Sasuke looked at her teary eyes strangely. She was glad there was only one line she had to say. As a geisha, she wasn't really meant to argue with her customer. "But, I love you!" Her voice cracked with an unexpected sob.

"CUT!"

Sakura froze before slowly turning to Kiba. However, instead of frustration, he looked absolutely ecstatic.

"You're awesome, Sakura-chan! That's exactly how I saw it happening! Man, if all the scenes go like this, I'll get an A for sure." He nodded happily.

Sakura smiled, eyes still watery but relieved that he wasn't going to have them do it again.

"Sakura…" Sasuke was looking at her hard, and Sakura blanched.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun?" she asked quietly, forcing a smile onto her face.

Suddenly her phone began to ring, impatiently as ever. The screen told her it was her father, which was surprising, seeing as he rarely called her being as busy as he was.

"Hi, otou-san," she said in an attempt to be cheerful, flipping open the cheap cell phone and pressing it to her ear. She wiped away the tears that gathered at her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to hide the fact that she had been on the verge of bursting out into tears only minutes before.

"Sakura-chan," Kakashi greeted, although not nearly as enthusiastically. "We need to talk. Are you alone?"

Sakura paled. How could this day have gotten any worse?

"No, I'm at Kiba's movie shoot," Sakura replied. "Is…is everything alright?"

Kakashi sighed, his deep voice weary beyond recognition. "Go somewhere quiet and sit down."

Sakura nodded, even though he couldn't see it, and turned to the rest of her group. "Guys, I have to go." She looked at Kiba apologetically. "It's important. I'm really sorry."

Kiba nodded, a very concerned look on his face, and Sakura waved to Hinata and Shino. Kiko was somewhere backstage and Sakura didn't know her very well, so she didn't bother to go say good-bye.

However, as hurt as Sakura was, she refused to say good-bye to Sasuke. She didn't even want to acknowledge him; he would only make things worse.

She quickly walked away, pushing through the door that Sasuke had held open for her only fifteen minutes earlier. Sakura found a bench outside the room and took a seat, her heart thumping.

"What's going on, otou-san?"

"Sakura-chan…we've been given an ultimatum. I want to give this decision to you, because it affects you the most."

Taking a shaky breath, Sakura replied, "Alright."

"Konoha, Inc. has been acquired by Uchiha, Corp." Kakashi paused, letting the information sink in. However, Sakura didn't make the connection.

"Yes…?"

"I believe you have met Sasuke's older relative, Uchiha Madara? He's the CEO of Uchiha Corp." Kakashi was obviously beating around the bush, attempting to avoid the topic.

"Maybe once," Sakura replied. She was getting frustrated in her anxiety. "What does any of this have to do with me?"

Kakashi exhaled hard. "He wants to marry you, Sakura. He's given the ultimatum that if you don't, I'll lose my job. If you do, he'll pay for your education and I quote, 'Take very good care' of you."

In the quiet anger of Kakashi's voice, Sakura heard nothing. She was in shock.

"It's December, otou-san," she whispered. "In America, April Fool's Day is still 5 months away."

Kakashi sounded like he was about to cry. "I'm not joking, Sakura-chan."

"He doesn't even know me!" she half-screamed into the phone. "How can he—he—this is some sick joke! Tell them to stop messing you around!"

"Sakura-chan, calm down," he replied, but there was no gusto in his voice. He was broken.

"I'll get a job," Sakura said, almost hysterically. "_I'll get three!_ Please don't make me marry him!"

"I don't want you to, Sakura. We'll find a way out of this. Just…come home, okay? I'll give them my two weeks' notice now."

Sakura felt a sob build up in her chest. How on earth had this happened? This was the worst day to ever have existed.

"Alright, otou-san," Sakura said quietly. "We'll figure this out."

"We will. Good-bye, Sakura-chan. I'll see you at six."

"Bye."

Sakura's phone clattered to the ground and she buried her face in her hands, finally letting herself cry.

Sasuke looked on, watching Sakura from around the corner, his brow furrowed in confusion and worry.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Three:**

**Junsuina Fuman**

"**Pure Displeasure"**

Cold black eyes stared out the window of the top story of the mansion, gazing unseeingly over the skyscrapers of downtown Tokyo. They were icy in their rage; the look in his eyes could have killed, a heart-stopping glare that would easily send children off crying and make lesser men tremble.

His kind proposal had been denied; he had tried to make it easy on his love, but apparently she was going to be obstinate and fight against the inevitable.

Needless to say, Uchiha Madara was furious.

His cellphone began to ring, a mocking tune in the silence. Checking the caller ID, he found that it was Ume. How unfortunate that she had chosen that exact moment to contact him—no matter what she said, he would not hesitate to take his anger out on her.

"Good evening, Takahashi-san." His tone was clipped. Normally he would have inquired as to what she was calling about, but he was waiting for her to trigger his anger.

What good was a personal assistant if she was not a puppy to kick on his bad days?

"Madara-sama, I have good news." Her voice was uncharacteristically quiet, which was saying something, but he could hear victory in her tone.

He frowned. It was unimportant, whatever she had to say, but he allowed her to continue anyways. "What is it? This is a rather late time to be calling." Madara glanced at the clock. It was almost 1:30am.

"As much as I disagree with your…ethics, I have found a solution to your problem with the young woman."

He scowled. "I thought I told you to keep yourself in your place?"

Ume spoke and it was clear she was holding her chin up in defiance, which enraged him. "I may not have, but it will be to our mutual benefit."

"You are walking a very fine line, _Ume-chan_." His threat from three days ago resurfaced.

"I understand, Madara-sama, but hear me out." She had been somewhat humbled, but Madara could still hear in her voice that she had a trump card.

Disbelieving, but willing to work with her if she truly had an answer to his dilemma, he demanded, "What do you want?"

"An extra 10,000 yen a year and a quarterly bonus."

Madara almost rolled his eyes in exasperation. When would Ume learn that money wasn't everything? However, it was easily possible in his budget, so he replied, "Done. What is your solution? Understand that your raise and bonus are dependent upon success." He paused. "This had better be damn good, Takahashi, or you may find yourself without a job in the next five minutes."

"Disciplinary action with her school," Ume replied quickly, cowed by his anger. She obviously had underestimated just how attached her boss was to this young woman, and in a split second of empathy, Ume felt bad for the girl she was about to trap in his grasp. "If she is threatened with expulsion for financial issues, she will become much more desperate. Hatake will make her marry you if she is on the verge of losing her dream. He cares about her happiness and won't want her to lose what she's always wanted."

Madara raised his eyebrows at Ume's genius, genuinely surprised. He hadn't thought to destroy Sakura's dream in exchange for her hand in marriage…but it was an almost perfect plan. "Congratulations, Takahashi-san. You may be about to become much wealthier."

He could hear her smirk over the phone. "I may not be perfect, Madara-sama, but I understand when success outweighs ethics." Even as she spoke, she felt a twist in her gut that she had just done something very bad.

Madara grinned toothily. "This is why you are my personal assistant. Set up the appointment with Tokyo University. Good-bye."

"Will do. Good-bye."

It was unusual to receive a note from the dean's office in the middle of class, but Sakura took it at face-value. Nothing could get any worse. Her otou only had another week at work and she wasn't having much luck finding a job.

It had been a week since the sickening proposal from Uchiha Madara and Sakura was feeling as though it had all been a dream. She had walked home the night of the news and continued on with her life. Telling Kiba that she wouldn't be able to participate in the movie for the next little bit of time while she searched for a job had been hard, but he'd understood.

Sakura had skipped her, Naruto, and Sasuke's weekly coffee get-together, as she was in no mood to see Sasuke with another girl. Life was already hard enough and Sakura wasn't masochistic.

Clutching the piece of paper in her hand, Sakura made her way to the dean's office. She noticed that it was right next to the financial aid office, and sighed at the fact that for some reason she hadn't qualified for it when she'd applied at the beginning of the school year. She hadn't been able to understand how she _didn't_, but Sakura also knew that it was a bad idea to argue with school officials. They liked to sit up on their high horses and tell everyone what to do.

Knocking on the door, Sakura waited to be told to come in.

"Enter."

She turned the knob and opened the door. At the desk sat Umino Iruka, flipping through a file that she noticed with a quick glance read _Haruno Sakura_.

"You sent for me, Umino-sensei?"

The brown-haired man sighed. "Yes. Take a seat, Haruno-san."

Sakura nodded, watching him closely. He looked weary…a lot like her otou had these days.

Suddenly there was a very bad feeling in her gut. "Haruno-san, how are things at home?"

She frowned immediately, but didn't want to be offensive, so she replied calmly, "Things are fine, Umino-sensei."

"Good, good." Iruka sighed again, finally making eye contact with Sakura. "There's been a recent background check on families and their financial statuses. It doesn't look like your family is going to be able to make tuition next semester."

Sakura gaped at him. "Is that even legal?" she demanded. That couldn't be right!

"It's just what happened," Iruka replied, looking at her weakly. "I can't explain the university board's decisions."

She fought tears back as she realized what was going on. She knew who was behind this—and she knew that with Madara's money would go much farther than her word.

"I'm getting a job," she said with a quavering voice. "And I'll be able to pay for next semester."

"Do you have your employer's number?" Iruka asked hopefully. It was obvious he thought it was wrong too, although it was very doubtful that he knew exactly _how_ wrong it was.

"I…I don't have an employer. _Yet!_" she cried out, for emphasis. "My grades have been great," she argued. "I've got one of the highest GPAs in my class! I do all my homework, I never skip class, and I have zero withdrawals!"

"I'm sorry, Haruno-san. Sometimes money's all that matters."

Sakura felt her anger rising. "So I can't come back next semester?"

Iruka shook his head. "You are suspended until you can find a way to pay for the rest of your tuition."

"You can't do that!" Sakura shouted, her heart breaking and composure snapping. "That isn't fair! What about all the other students who can't afford? What are you doing to them!"

He shook his head. "Haruno-san, please pull it together."

"No! You can't do this! School is all I care about! It's my everything! You can't—You can't do this!"

A security guard opened the door and stuck his head inside the crack. "Is everything alright in here?"

"Yes," Iruka said, his tone sad. "Haruno-san was just leaving."

Sakura began to sob weakly into her hands, unable to believe how far that _bastard_ was going to try and get her. This was unheard of! She was tempted to bring it to the media, but what would that do? It would only lose her place forever at Tokyo University, and she loved the school with everything she was.

She already had her things with her, as it was a general rule not to leave one's things unattended. Pulling out her cellphone, she sobbed her heart out to Kakashi.

"Sakura-chan," Kakashi said gently. "Sakura-chan."

"Yes, otou-san?" she asked, nibbling her lip to stop from sobbing loudly. Tears streamed down her cheeks in hot, burning waves.

"Just say yes. It's not going to get any better until you…say yes."

Sakura's mouth fell open. _"What?"_

He sighed hard over the phone.

"I want you to be happy. Just say yes and these problems will go away." By the way his voice was breaking, it was obvious this wasn't what he wanted to be saying. "He's not going to let you get a job. He'll cut off our every resource until you say yes."

"No! I can't say yes! I can't give in! Otou-san, this is my _life!"_

"You can always divorce him, when you get the chance, Sakura-chan." Kakashi's voice was quiet, as though he didn't want anyone to hear him say such a thing. "Take everything from him. Leave him penniless."

"But otou-san…I'm not like that…" However, the idea wasn't sounding so bad. Madara wasn't pulling any punches with her; why should she?

"Just think about it. Things are only going to get worse." Kakashi exhaled hard over the phone. "But I will support any decision you make."

Sakura smiled, her face wet with tears. "Thank you, otou-san. I'll think about it."

"That's my girl," Kakashi said, pride in his voice.

"I'll be home tonight, obviously," Sakura said, her voice depressed but she wouldn't let it get her down. She was too strong for that. "I'll cook dinner and all."

"Thanks, Sakura-chan. I'll see you tonight."

Sakura nodded, hung up the phone after saying good-bye, and proceeded to cry the rest of her walk home.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi everyone! Just putting up this short transitional chapter; things are about to get really good, so hang in there! Have a great night!

* * *

**Chapter Four:**

**Seihen**

"**Change of Times"**

Sakura stared down at the barely-touched bowl of rice, her eyes wide and yet completely empty.

"Call him."

Kakashi stared down at her, both eyes expressive despite his eye patch. It was obvious he was just as broken as she was from the whole ordeal, but there was an inexplicable pride glowing in his otherwise dejected countenance.

"Sakura…"

She looked up sharply. "Call him. And tell him that I'm going to make his life hell."

* * *

Uchiha Madara smirked into the phone as Takahashi Ume relayed his wife-to-be's message. Ume was silently but obviously gloating over her victory, and Madara couldn't fault her for it. He was rather impressed himself, but there was a reason he had to work to keep Ume on a leash.

Just like he would obviously have to do to Sakura…

"She's going to make _my_ life hell? My little blossom obviously has no idea who she's dealing with."

Lust glinted in his charcoal eyes.

* * *

Sasuke stared down at the cooling mug of coffee. It was a dark roast, the darkest they had, and even still it wasn't bitter enough to suit his horrid mood.

"Hey, teme!" Naruto's bright voice barraged his sensitive ears and Sasuke growled lowly. "What's up?"

"What do you want, dobe?" His tone was sharp and colder than usual.

"What's your problem?" Naruto took a seat down at their usual spot in the corner coffee shop, looked around, and immediate knew the problem. He may have been blonde, but he wasn't always oblivious. "Hey, where's Sakura?"

"Who knows?" Sasuke grumbled.

Naruto looked at his friend dumbly. "But it's not like Sakura-chan to just abandon us? She's always here…early."

They looked around the bustling coffee shop. The warm aromas of tea and coffee swirled around them, and the light chatter of patrons filled the air. Many people were there that day—just not Sakura.

"She hasn't been here for the past two weeks." Sasuke commented moodily, sniffing at his coffee and then pushing it away. "Maybe she's found some guy to hang out with."

Naruto glared at him. "And whose fault might that be, Mr. Brings-Home-Another-Girl-Every-Night?"

It was true. Sasuke had become more promiscuous since the day he met with Karin at the coffee shop. Almost every night there was a new girl and a new package of condoms. Naruto was the raven-haired college student's roommate, so he had first-hand knowledge. The screams and squeaking of the cheap dorm bed were all the clues he needed.

"Shut up, dobe." Even though it was a rather typical line for the Uchiha, the fact that Sasuke wouldn't make eye contact with him told all.

"Are you _jealous?_" Naruto taunted. "Jealous that she's with some other guy?" Naruto himself didn't care; he thought it would be a good idea for Sakura to find someone other than Sasuke, because in his mind Sasuke wasn't good enough for the smart, beautiful girl. The blonde had had a feeling that Sakura wasn't truly over the Uchiha and he would be relieved to find that she was.

"_Shut up_, dobe," Sasuke warned, still not making eye contact.

"Oooh! Sasuke-teme's jealous! Ha! Serves you right for being the slutty bastard you are!" Naruto laughed heartily.

He was quickly silenced by Sasuke slapping him upside the face.

"What was that for, teme?" Naruto whined, clutching at his reddened cheek. "It's not like you care anyways. Friends have to learn to share."

At this, Sasuke stood up and left, leaving a dumbfounded Naruto to pay the bill.


	6. Chapter 6

Hi everyone! Just letting you all know that this is a smutty chapter, although there aren't any lemons in it. I know it seems a little fast, but it's all for the greater good!

Ahaha!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Five:**

**Watashi ni teishutsu**

"**Submit to Me"**

Sakura had never felt as afraid in her life as she did standing in front of the Uchiha Corp. main building.

Kakashi stood behind her, his hand on her back. Sakura felt as though eyes were on her, even though the bustling streets paid no attention to her. She felt watched, and it made her incredibly uneasy.

"I can't believe this," Sakura muttered weakly. "What is wrong with this man?"

Kakashi looked at her but couldn't seem to bring himself to say anything. She could see the familiar eye crinkle of a smile, but somehow she knew that it was half-hearted and certainly not encouraging.

"Will you at least go in with me? I'm supposed to meet with…" Sakura looked down at the paper in her hand, mailed to her that very day. "Takahashi Ume."

Kakashi blanched, then said quietly, "Takahashi is incredibly cunning, Sakura-chan. Be careful."

She nodded, then looked up at her adoptive father with teary eyes. The droplets that soon after ran down her face were unexpected but certainly not unwarranted. "Otou-san, please tell me everything will be alright." _Even if it won't be,_ she added silently, several more tears falling.

"Sakura-chan…" Kakashi said, grief in his voice. He pulled her into a tight embrace. "Everything will be alright."

At this, Sakura couldn't help but begin to sob softly into his suit. Her head hurt from the tension she held within her body and her throat ached from trying to cry softly. She just wanted to bawl and cry and scream at the world. She hated this whole issue; how Uchiha Madara had effectively infiltrated her life and forced her hand into a marriage.

"Come now, Sakura, you're going to get my clothes all wet and then I won't be presentable for work," Kakashi joked, although the strain in his voice was a telltale sign that he felt like breaking down as well. It was uncharacteristic for the man to be so emotional, even after Rin had died, but Sakura supposed it was just like losing someone he loved all over again.

Except she would make sure this wasn't permanent.

"Alright, otou-san," she replied at long last, pulling away from him. "I'll-I'll see you after work."

"Of course. Stay strong, and don't let him push you around." Kakashi didn't smile when he said it, though. He was dead serious and the concern in his eyes made Sakura worry. It felt like there was more to that statement than simply 'not being pushed around.'

"What do you mean?" she asked as they entered the front door to the building. It was a rotating door, and so even in the split second that she was separated from Kakashi she felt her heart plummet in her chest.

"I mean that-"

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura looked up at the unfamiliar voice. She immediately made eye contact with a red-haired woman, her hair cropped shortly into a boy-cut and her eyes an odd shade of reddish-brown. "Who are you?" Sakura asked, frowning at the title of familiarity attached to her name by someone she'd never met before.

"I'm Takahashi Ume," the woman grinned, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I'll be your escort up to Madara-sama's office. He works in the penthouse." Ume winked. "Pretty powerful, huh?"

Sakura ignored her comments about Madara, remembering her vow to make life as miserable as possible for Madara. Now that she had met Takahashi Ume, who obviously worked closely with Madara if she was calling him by his first name, she was going to cause the same problems for the redhead as she would for Madara. "Don't act like you know me, for starters, Takahashi-san." The fierceness in Sakura's voice startled and pleased the pinkette at the same time. "And for the record, I don't care about power, so you don't have to bring that up. I'm only here because I'm being forced."

"Understood, Sakura-san," Ume said, her voice hinting at mockery, but it wasn't outright. Sakura immediately hated her from that moment on. "I can see why Madara-sama chose you."

Sakura looked at Ume sharply. "I don't want to talk about that demented man. Let's just get this over with."

At the comment Sakura made, Ume finally frowned and the walk towards the main elevator was silent. Sakura was grateful, because she just simply knew that nothing Ume said would be helpful. Truthful, perhaps, but not helpful, and Sakura didn't appreciate the older woman's attitude.

But she supposed that if she worked for Madara, they must have been somewhat similar.

After a long five-minute elevator ride to the top, Sakura was ready to bolt for it. Her fiery spirit that had seen the light with Ume had been doused by the thought of seeing Madara. She had a feeling they would be alone, and it suddenly occurred to her that Madara might try to make advances on her…

Why else would he want to marry her? He didn't know her personality, so the only factor that could be connecting them was…

Her looks.

At that thought, Sakura pulled out her cellphone and put it on vibrate, so she could claim that someone was calling her if things got out of hand. She wasn't going take any risks.

She had half a mind to have the police dialed, just in case he went too far, but she had a feeling he wouldn't push his luck too much.

Not that it would make a difference either way; Madara _wasn't_ getting anywhere near her. They could have a little chat—and perhaps she could convince him to stop the nonsense and let this all go. Sakura doubted it would work, but she could only try.

And if it _didn't_ work, then she would begin the process of hiring a divorce lawyer for immediately after the marriage. She refused to lose her virginity to Madara, of all people. That was not something he would take from her.

Ume rapped on the door, breaking Sakura from her thoughts. A deep, baritone voice came through the door, muffled. "Come in."

Sakura took a deep breath as Ume turned the ornate knob and pushed the door open. She wasn't going to appear weak in front of him, not by a long shot.

A man in his late thirties sat behind a beautifully crafted desk. He had long, spikey black hair and his irises were a deep crimson, which immediately frightened Sakura. She flinched when they made eye contact, but then berated herself and stared him straight in the eye. Smirking, although his eyes were unreadable, he stood to his full height.

He was tall, very tall, with a broad, muscular form. It occurred to her that he must work out, because he wasn't fat—he was actually thin, but his muscles were obvious despite his suit. His skin was incredibly pale, even more so than her own, and seemed to be taut over his body, as though his form was filled out fully.

"Hello, Haruno Sakura. I am very pleased you have accepted my offer."

Sakura was stunned at the deepness and masculinity of his voice. It reeked of power and arrogance, and she hated it immediately.

"Hello, Uchiha Madara," she said, mimicking his greeting. "I can't say the same for myself." Her tone was cold and defiant.

The corners of his lips tugged into a smirk at her belligerence. "Come, sit. Takahashi-san, you are dismissed."

Ume nodded, having not said a work the entire time, and left. The door clicked shut and Sakura was surprised to hear another click after it shut. She wasn't…locked in with him, was she? She timidly made her way to the central chair in front of Madara's desk and took a seat, glancing around the office nervously.

Madara stared at her for a long time, which intimidated her. She couldn't hold eye contact with him for long, and every time she turned to look at him she was immediately forced to look away simply from the fear that he made her feel.

Finally, she decided she had had enough of the power games. "Are you going to tell my why the hell you're forcing me to marry you?"

Madara's eyes glimmered with some unidentifiable emotion as he spoke, before he slowly responded, "No."

Sakura's eye twitched. "What do you mean, no?"

Madara laughed, a cold laugh that held no humor. "It means I'm not going to tell you, little one."

"Don't call me that," Sakura spat, sounding a thousand times braver than she felt.

"Oh, but you're so much littler than I am," he said, his voice mirthful. "It's fitting, is it not?"

Sakura couldn't help herself. Asking in a mock-innocent voice, "But aren't pet names for _people who care about one another?_"

That, Madara didn't seem to like. He frowned deeply, and there was a sudden danger in his eyes. "I would watch who you decide to disrespect," he remarked coldly. "Some only have a small amount of patience."

She didn't heed his warning, against her better judgment. "Patience is a virtue. If you're one of those people, you'd do well to learn it."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Sakura knew she'd made a mistake. Madara slowly stood and began to stalk over to her. She immediately likened it to a predatory stance, and she knew that she had no hope in retaliating.

But really, what was the worst he could do? If he hit her, she would immediately report him for assault and possibly abuse.

When he got within five feet of her and Sakura felt the fury emanating from his body, she knew it was time to leave.

"It was nice talking to you, Uchiha-sama," Sakura said politely, standing up and instantly taking a step backwards. "I'll be going now, I think that-"

"You're not going anywhere, my little one."

Sakura blanched at his tone of voice and the use of the word 'my.' She took another couple of steps backwards.

"I am, actually," Sakura replied nervously. "I have to meet Naruto and Sasuke-"

Madara interrupted her, smirking despite his anger. "On Thursdays at 4pm? I'm afraid it's Wednesday at 9am. You're about 31 hours off, my dear."

Her mouth dropped open. "H-how do you-"

"I've done my research, Sakura_-chan_," he replied, grin widening. "I know more about you than you do."

"That's invasion of privacy!" Sakura cried shrilly. "You can't do that!"

"When you have as much power as I do, there's not much you can't do."

It was in that moment that Sakura realized he was within grabbing distance of her. She immediately fled, but she was caught by the arm and her back was pulled flush into his body.

Sakura opened her mouth to scream but Madara clamped his palm over her mouth. "Now, now, Sakura-chan, I'm not going to hurt you."

She continued to try and scream, but he simply ignored her, nuzzling his face into her hair and breathing in her scent. Finally it occurred to her to bite his hand, at which point he promptly removed it and whirled her around to face him.

The lust in his eyes was enough to silence her and she looked at him, frightened and trying to push him away.

"Let me go!" Sakura cried, trying to push him off.

"Shh," he replied, pulling her tightly against his body. "There is no use in fighting the inevitable."

And then he kissed her.

It occurred to her to 'answer' her phone, but he was holding her tightly and there was no way she could pretend to reach for it.

The kiss was rough and demanding. Sakura opened her mouth to scream, which was Plan B and came after the failed phone plan, and he took advantage of that to thrust his tongue into her mouth. She choked and gagged, trying to push him off, but he was quickly steering them towards one of the couches in his office. Sakura felt tears stream down her face.

Apparently, Madara did too. "Shh, little one. I'm not going to hurt you."

"No! Let me go!" She yelled, and Madara kissed her again. This time, she didn't open her mouth, so he cupped her breast through her bra and shirt, manipulating it so that his thumb brushed directly over her clothed nipple. She inhaled sharply and he took access of her mouth again.

Gripping her waist, he laid her down on the couch.

_No! No!_ Sakura was getting frantic. She tried to kick him where it would hurt most, but he spread her thighs with his knees, protecting himself and disabling her simultaneously.

He pulled away from her and began to kiss down her neck. Instead of screaming, she chose to say fearfully, "This is rape, you know! Sexual assault! I say no!"

"I'm not raping you," Madara said frigidly in between kisses. He tugged down the collar, of her shirt, exposing her right shoulder, and continued to kiss towards her breast. Sakura sobbed, terrified, even though Madara was ignoring her actions.

"Please! This is the first time we met! Don't you think it's a little fast?" Sakura tried desperately to reason with him, tried to make him see that this was unacceptable.

Madara stopped and then looked up at her. He answered her question with a question of his own. "Do you know how long I've waited for this?"

Sakura let a wail burst past her lips, as this was a concession that he didn't care and wouldn't stop.

Madara slid his fingers expertly up her shirt and under her bra. "Please," she begged. "Please stop."

He didn't respond, instead anticipating the response she gave as soon as he touched her softened nipples.

Sakura gasped and struggled, but his body weight pinned her down. "Stop struggling, little one. I won't hurt you."

"No, you stop!" Sakura demanded tearfully. "Please, please stop!"

He tweaked her nipples and kissed her again. Giving in seemed to be her only option but at the same time, it _wasn't _an option.

Madara's hand left her breasts and she thought for a hopeful second that it was over. Then she felt the tugging at her jeans and she panicked even more so than before.

"_Mmph! Mmph!_ MMPH!"

He was slow to pull down her jeans zipper and tug her jeans off her, exposing her panties. Sakura tried to shake him off but he pushed her down harder into the couch, using his body weight effectively, and using a free hand slipped a finger past her panties.

Much to her horror, he was probing her opening.

She shrieked into his mouth when he thrust his finger inside of her. It hurt, oh it hurt! She was too small for even his finger, and to top it all off she was a virgin and had never been penetrated before.

He began to move his finger rhythmically, pumping in and out slowly. Sakura cried and cried, unable to believe that she was truly experiencing this molestation.

Madara noticed that she wasn't getting wetter, instead, she remained dry and unwilling. He pulled away from her, allowing her to take gasping breaths of air, and whispered into her ear, "I would focus on enjoying myself if I were you. This will not end until you've been pleasured. If you're good, I won't make you return the favor."

Sakura let out a weak moan of defeat. If she wanted this to end, she had to _give in?_

"Submit to me, little one," Madara said quietly, coaxingly.

She just wanted it to be over. That was all she wanted. Over. Over, over, over.

_Please let it be over._

She focused her mind on his finger and ignored the disgust roiling through her body as she did so. As he continued and nothing happened, she began to feel hopeless. She had never had an orgasm before—she didn't even know how to do it! She would be here forever, and what if he decided to employ different tactics?

What if he—oh Kami-

Suddenly Sakura felt a bolt of pleasure in her gut. Madara had just tapped a particularly sensitive spot and she knew that him touching that could possibly make her come. "Right…there…" she gasped as he hit it again.

She consoled herself that she was only doing this to make it be over. Sakura would never consider this consensual and if Madara did, he was mad.

"Good girl," he said with a smirk. Sakura's eyes were closed as she focused on the pleasure, trying to get it to build up, but she could tell he was smirking and also panting lightly. _He's so…sick_. She couldn't help but think to herself.

She would have felt sorry for him but she was too busy feeling sorry for herself. Besides, he was one of the most powerful people in Tokyo. Who wouldn't expect him to be a little wrong in the head?

Just not _this_ wrong.

The pleasure building up began to flood her and suddenly Sakura moaned loudly, albeit involuntarily, which quickly turn to a relatively quiet scream when Madara pumped harder and faster on the rise and fall of her orgasm.

When it was over, she opened her eyes blearily.

Madara was lying on top of her, looking satisfied with himself. She couldn't bring herself to make eye contact, instead turning away and letting several tears roll down her face.

Madara smirked triumphantly. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Sakura couldn't respond.

* * *

Thanks for reading and please review! It means so much to me!

Cheers!

~Of Broken Love~


	7. Chapter 7

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry for the late update; life has been extremely hectic. I'm not too pleased with the length, but it's getting to the good parts soon!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Six:**

**Senpū de Ushinawa**

"**Lost in the Whirlwind"**

_Would you please get off me now?_

It was all Sakura wanted to say to him, but Madara seemed to enjoy being on top of her half-naked form. When she refused to make eye contact with him, he gripped her by the chin and forced her to look at him.

The thoughtful expression in his eyes frightened her.

"What do you want?" she asked in a trembling voice, something she hated. "Haven't you gotten enough from me?"

The usual spitfire Sakura couldn't help but return, even though her tone reflected none of it. All her anger had been quashed when he had been touching her, but now that she felt safer—what else could he really take from her?—she wasn't so inclined to roll over and bare her neck to him.

"Not quite," he murmured. "I believe I require a 'thank you'?"

Sakura instantly paled before the fury got the best of her. "Not a chance in hell!"

It was against her better judgment to react as she did, but she refused to do _anything_ to thank him for that terrible, horrible molestation he had just put her through.

He frowned. "And all I was going to ask for was a kiss. What a shame. Now I just may require more from you. An apology to go along with your thank you, perhaps?"

Sakura immediately began to struggle, although in vain. "Get off me! Get off me right now!" Her voice was much more pleading and desperate than she ever would have wanted, but fear coursed through her body as she realized she might actually have to do more than just be violated.

She would _not_ touch him.

Madara quelled her struggles and then, after she had been thoroughly restrained, he pressed a single finger to her lips. "Shh, dear Sakura-chan. This will not be difficult for you if you simply cooperate. If you do not, however…"

"Try and make me," she responded through gritted teeth. "You just try!"

Madara smirked. "Little cherry blossom, you'd be surprised at how convincing I can be, come the opportunity."

Sakura's eyes closed and she fought tears. "Please. Please, wasn't that enough?"

She didn't see Madara's eyes soften for a split second, before glinting with lust. "Kiss me, and I may just change my mind."

She felt so trapped. She refused to…but what other choice did she have?

Finally, she opened her eyes, several tears leaking out, and she nodded. Trembling, she closed her eyes and leaned up to chastely peck him on the lips, loathing herself for her weakness.

As soon as her lips brushed against his, he gripped the back of her neck and deepened the kiss. Eyes snapping open, she began to push against him frantically. However, he simply leaned back and pulled her on top of him. Struggling desperately, she tried to shove herself off—not realizing that her fighting aroused him.

It was only when she felt a large, intimidating budge against her inner thigh that she stopped, freezing like a deer in the headlights.

Madara pulled away, eyes glazed with lust. "Do not stop, Sakura-chan. You have no idea how good that feels…"

"Sick bastard!" she yelled, not struggling anymore. Madara frowned at her, danger in his eyes.

"Watch your tongue, my dear. I am only so tolerant."

Breaking down into sobs, she gave in to her weakness and collapsed onto his hard body. His arm immediately wrapped around her waist, pinning her to him, while all she did was cry. Madara released her neck and began to stroke her pink hair gently.

"Shh," he cooed, voice uncharacteristically soft. Sakura sobbed weakly and couldn't comply.

Finally, she was able to calm herself, taking deep, steadying breaths. "When can I go home?" she asked quietly, ready to see Kakashi's face and be held by her adoptive father. Of course, she would never tell him what had happened—she was too ashamed. She had _enjoyed_ it. What was wrong with her?

She forced herself to remember that Madara hadn't really given her much choice in the matter. Giving a shuddering sigh, she waited for him to respond.

He was silent for a long moment before finally responding with a question of his own, "You would like that, would you not?"

Sakura nodded her head numbly. Why wouldn't she like that?

She could hear the smirk in Madara's voice, even though she couldn't see it. "You may return home tonight…to pack your bags. Tomorrow, I will expect you to move to the Uchiha compound."

Sakura's breath caught in her throat.

"A-already?" Her voice was weak. She couldn't _move_ to his home! Then she had no protection from his evil, sadistic ways. It would be much too easy to take advantage of her.

"Of course, Sakura-chan. You are to be my wife. There is no reason that you should live with your father anymore." His words were simply put, but she could hear the deepness of triumph in Madara's voice.

"I…" Sakura couldn't form words.

Madara cut her off, not interested in what else she had to say. "Come now. Get dressed and I'll tell Shisui to take you home. He'll be picking you up at 5:30 tomorrow evening."

Sakura exhaled hard. She only had a little over 24 hours to say all her goodbyes?

"No, you will not be allowed to see your friends," Madara said calmly but firmly, and Sakura turned, shocked at the fact that he had practically read her mind. "You are not permitted to see Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto."

Sakura's mouth gaped in indignation. "But-"

"I'm sure you would love to see how they have fared since your departure." Madara grinned at her, a dangerous glean in his eyes. "They missed you dearly…at first. I'm sure your blonde friend is still torn up about it. But the man you love…"

"I don't love Sasuke!" she hissed, indignation filling her voice.

Madara continued anyways, his eyes gleaming with cruel mirth. "…has been sleeping with most every woman he meets. How does that make you feel, Sakura-chan? That the man you have been pining after for years finds all his pleasure randomly in other women?"

Sakura's eyes widened. Sasuke had become a man-whore? She frowned, bowing her head and not finding any reason to argue with Madara. They were related, and Madara had already proven he was keeping tabs on her and her friends.

And of course, she should have expected it. Sasuke didn't care about her; he never had.

Finally, she asked, "When can I go home?"

Madara grinned at her defeated expression. "As soon as you please, my dear. I'll call Shisui whenever you request."

"I'd like to go home now," Sakura replied quietly, trying to contain the tears in her eyes.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke was growing impatient.

It was already 4:30 Thursday afternoon and even though he shouldn't have been surprised, he found that Sakura _still_ hadn't come to their coffee hangout. In fact, she'd been gone for three weeks, and not even Naruto had talked to her.

Sasuke pulled out his phone and went to dial her cell phone number, all the while wondering why he was pursuing her when she had quite obviously ditched them.

He tried to stuff the emotions of disgust at the thought of her with another guy. It wasn't his business…and yet he felt as though it was. Naruto had said some true words of wisdom, uncharacteristic for the blonde, but Sasuke couldn't help but find the truth in them. He had never claimed her as his girlfriend; in fact, he'd recently done the opposite, expressing his frustrations over Sakura in a very sexual way that did not include her.

Suddenly, an unbidden thought came to his mind. Sakura, underneath him, writhing in pleasure…

Sasuke went white, even though his stoic facial expression never changed. The painful pleasure in his groin stilled him and he blinked rapidly, trying to get the visualization out of his min.d

He frowned. He was obviously having sex much too frequently if he was thinking about _Sakura_ that way…

But he knew that was a lie.

A small, barely existent part of him knew that he was not only torn up about Sakura's disappearance, but was also using women as compensation for her departure. He missed her and in the worst way possible. Her smiling face, green eyes sparkling when she saw him, pink hair always shiny and soft in the sun—seeing her was what he lived for.

Sasuke swallowed hard. He missed her so much…it upset him that thinking these thoughts brought an ache to his heart, deep in his chest. Frowning, he finally dialed her number.

* * *

Sakura stood in a room covered in clothing. She wasn't sure what to bring with her; she certainly didn't want to bring everything because that would imply that she was leaving behind her old life for good. In her mind, this was temporary. It had to be. There was no other way she would have agreed.

Suddenly, her phone began to ring. Frowning, she picked it up.

_Sasuke?_

Remembering Madara's words, tears filled her eyes. Why on earth would he be calling her? Genuinely confused, she almost didn't answer it in time.

"Hello?" Her voice was soft and weary, tired from the long day of packing.

"Where have you been?" was Sasuke's immediate demand.

Sakura choked on her words. "I've been…busy," she replied, barely believing her own lie.

"Who are you seeing?" Sasuke's voice was cold—reminding her much of Madara.

Sakura's brow furrowed and a single tear of indignation fell from her eye. "I should probably be asking you the same question, except it would have to be plural, wouldn't it?"

"I-" He was shocked, barely timing his sentence to get the first word out.

"It's not any of your business, _Sasuke-kun_," she spat. The anger was gushing out quite suddenly, all her pent up stress and angst stemming from the ordeal of the past three weeks making her temper foul. She didn't have any qualms about letting him know she knew what had been going on; besides, even if she was wrong, it would be better to push him away then rather than hold on to the hope that he'd ever see her that way. It was a win-win for her…and in her misery, she felt justified. "You think you can just sleep around, like a _whore_," her voice cracked at the word, "At least I'm not!"

Although she had said very few words, it was obvious she had made an impression. The line was silent for a good long time before Sasuke finally said, shell-shocked, "Sakura, I don't know how you-"

"How I know?" she asked furiously, trying to contain her emotions and failing. "It's not your business. Nothing in my life is your business. You don't care and you never have! Why start caring now?"

"Sakura, listen-"

"No, you listen, Sasuke!" One tear, then a second tear, then third, fourth, and fifth cascaded down her cheeks. "You don't understand! You have no I what I've been through with your-"

Sakura caught herself. She couldn't reveal what was going on with Madara. That was the most shameful thing…although she supposed Sasuke would probably be there for the wedding. She shook her head, withholding sobs. She would make sure he wasn't invited.

How had this even _happened?_

"With my what?" Sasuke asked. His tone was completely blank.

"No one. Nothing," Sakura replied, beginning to sob just as she hung up the phone.

* * *

Sasuke heard the beep of the ending call and put his phone down just as Naruto showed up. He looked up at his blonde friend, uncharacteristic worry in his eyes.

"Something's wrong with Sakura."

* * *

That's all! I'm sure you can see why I feel it's lacking...anyways, I hope to update again soon!

Have a good week everyone!

Cheers!

~Of Broken Love~


	8. Chapter 8

Hey everyone! This chapter isn't as long as I would have originally liked. However, the next chapter is about to get much, much better!

FYI: There is an important Notice on my profile page. I would recommend checking it out. I'm probably going to put the more explicit "lemons" (can they even be called that in this case?" on my Wordpress, simply to stop this from getting taken down and all. Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Seven:**

**Wareware wa Hikisagaru Koto wa Kesshite Arimasen**

"**We Will Never Back Down"**

The tumultuous call that had brought Sakura so much pain was quickly forgotten when she glanced at the clock and realized she only had half an hour until her captivity began. Fearfully searching the room with her eyes, she tried to come up with any way to escape Madara's treachery. The need to run far, far away was incredibly prominent, but she knew it wouldn't solve anything.

Sighing weakly, Sakura turned towards the door to her bedroom. In a large maroon suitcase, leaned up against the wall, were most of her meager belongings, namely her clothing. In several other duffel bags were her prized possessions, mainly gifts from Naruto, Ino, and Hinata, as well as other friends she had accumulated over the years. Finally, in her backpack were the most important things—birth certificate, social security card, and so on. She wasn't going to let those wander in her move. Who knew what would happen in Madara got ahold of them?

It then occurred to her that he probably already had all that information stored away, anyhow.

Sakura had taken the liberty to pack everything in her room, but when she glanced to the bathroom she realized if she left then, she'd leave all her toiletries behind. Scrambling, as the clock was ticking and she wished to owe Madara no favors in gifts, even toiletries, she went to go pack her bathroom up.

Grabbing the last duffel bag, she began to pack her shampoo, conditioner, and everything else of necessity. It was a harmless task until she came across her tampons and pads.

For some reason, the sight of her tampons reminded her of the previous day's molestation. She blanched, face going pure white as the memory of Madara's invading fingers penetrated her mind. She trembled violently, understanding fully that once she moved in she couldn't expect such an act to be stopped.

It was then that Sakura broke.

"Please," she whimpered to herself, to any Kami she could dare to acknowledge, as several hot tears burned their way down her cheeks. "Please, don't ever let it happen again."

She had been bending over in a standing position, but at her own words, she fell to her knees. Sakura hadn't thought about yesterday for a reason, and this was exactly that. She hadn't wanted to break down and feel weak, but here she was, sobbing miserably as she recalled the terrible event.

"_Bastard,"_ she mumbled to herself, just before a hiccup cracked her voice and caused her to start bawling again. He had been so terribly sadistic, making her _enjoy_ it like that…

A feeling of shame erupted in her chest. She had _enjoyed_ it, forced or not. Granted, she had only wanted it to be over, but why had she given in?

A sudden thought occurred to her. Why hadn't she thought to fake it?

Feeling even worse about herself, Sakura buried her face into her palms. The tears were stinging her face at this point because of the temperature that they were and her sobs wracked the bathroom loudly. Anybody home would know she was very, very upset.

Sitting there felt like forever, but she couldn't move. Rooted to the spot, crying her eyes out, Haruno Sakura didn't know what to do or how to feel.

Suddenly, the doorbell went off and Sakura froze. Kakashi wouldn't ring the doorbell. That meant…

Her captivity was about to begin.

Taking hasty, shuddering and not-so-calming breaths, Sakura stood up. Drying her eyes on the sleeve of her light pink long-sleeved shirt, she inspected herself. She was wearing tight black jeans that would prove difficult to remove for any outside party and black sandals that weren't exactly suited for the weather, and her shirt was V-necked but certainly not low-cut. She wasn't going to be easy prey this time.

She ruffled her hair in the mirror that she could probably assume she'd never see again, trying to appear unaffected. Stuffing the tampons and pads into her bag and the rest of the items she could find in her bathroom, Sakura walked out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Full of dread, she made her way out of her bedroom and towards the front door of the small apartment. She hesitantly answered the door, knowing that the moment it opened she was trapped for an indefinite period of time.

"Haruno Sakura?"

She had never seen the man standing before her, but he was definitely an Uchiha. He had the signature black hair and eyes. His hair was short and slightly curly, unlike Sasuke and Madara, but she could tell from his pale complexion he certainly worked for her husband-to-be.

Her stomach flip-flopped at the disgusting thought process.

"That's me," she responded with a weak smile.

"My name is Uchiha Shisui. I'm here to escort you to Madara-sama's home. But I'm sure you already know that." He smiled, a friendly gesture, which Sakura tried desperately to emulate.

She moved to let him enter the apartment. Sakura felt immediate dislike for him when she noticed the look of surprise and mild distaste at the small living space, but he quickly masked it and smiled at her again. This time she did not return the gesture.

"So, do you live by yourself?" Shisui asked amicably as he grabbed Sakura's largest bag.

"No, I live with my otou-san," she replied curtly.

It reminded her of the conversation they'd had last night. When Sakura had explained to Kakashi just how things were panning out—namely, her moving to Madara's right away—Kakashi had been dismayed but obviously unable to do anything. She'd seen the now-familiar tears he tried to hide from her as she told him everything about the encounter, excluding the molestation. There was no reason for him to know of that. It would only hurt and enrage him.

"That's nice," Shisui responded, catching onto Sakura's disinterest in the conversation. Sakura bent over to pick up one of the bags and Shisui stopped her. "Don't do that."

Sakura rose an eyebrow at his antics. "What do you mean? It's my stuff…"

"Someone of your status shouldn't be moving her own things. It would look bad on the Uchihas."

Sakura's mouth was agape. _"What?"_

"You're about to become one of the most powerful women in Tokyo and probably Japan. It would look bad if you carried your own things. Let me get them." At this, he smiled genuinely, as if he knew his place and was content with it.

Sakura couldn't get her mouth to shut. What on earth…?

"Uh…alright," she finally conceded. "I don't even know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything, Sakura-san. There's nothing wrong with allowing others to help you, right?"

She nodded dumbly and followed Shisui out to the limousine, which was waiting outside with the engine still running.

After everything had been loaded into the trunk, Sakura was let into the spacious back seat while Shisui went to the driver's cab, beginning their trip to the Uchiha compound—and to Sakura's captivity.

* * *

Madara looked towards the clock impatiently. It was rare that he felt this way, but he couldn't wait for _his_ Sakura to arrive. Six o'clock had come and passed and he was growing angry at the fact that they were taking so long.

If his blossom had caused Shisui any problems, there would be hell to pay.

Finally, he glanced out the window and an immediate frown lighted his features. The car was parked out in the driveway, but there was no sign of Sakura—only Shisui leaning into the open car door.

He went to investigate, cold fury in his chest.

* * *

Sakura was, indeed, causing Shisui problems.

"Haruno-san, please get out of the car." By this point, Uchiha Shisui was desperate.

On the ride over, Sakura had grown more and more afraid of her situation, and therefore more and more angry. Finally, she had decided to be stubborn and simply not get out of the car. She didn't want this to happen and more so, she didn't want to see Madara again.

So she wasn't budging.

"I don't think you understand what's going on here," she spat, pressing herself obstinately against the seat. She had buckled herself in, unlike most people did in a limousine, and was gripping the side of the car that did not open for dear life.

Shisui frowned. "I'm afraid Madara-sama's business is not my own."

"Well, maybe I should make it your business," Sakura growled. "Do you know this man that you serve so faithfully? Do you know what he does to innocent people like-"

"Little cherry blossom, I believe that is enough."

Sakura froze at the sound of the voice she hated the most. Her heart literally stopped for almost two seconds, and then it began to pound furiously.

Fear filled her. She didn't know what to do.

She was disgusted at the relief that came over Shisui's features as Madara arrived. Gripping tighter, she refused to let go.

"Enough of what?" she responded angrily, but her voice trembled. "Enough of revealing what a sick-"

Sakura was interrupted by her own yelp as she was jerked forcefully, but the seat belt stopped her from moving very far.

"You are clever, Sakura, but not clever enough," Madara growled. "Shisui, you are dismissed."

Shisui heaved a sigh and saluted, not seeming one bit perturbed by Sakura's situation. What was wrong with the Uchiha? Did they have no concern for outsiders or something?

Sakura grimaced. That was probably very close to the truth.

It did surprise her that Shisui saw her unwillingness in the situation and still did not intervene; however, she had little time to ponder that when Madara got into the car himself, closing the door behind him.

She suddenly felt very, very alone and very, very trapped.

"Now, Sakura dear," he said in a cold, but sickly sweet voice. "Why don't you be a good little girl and _cooperate_. You were so good yesterday I was hoping there would be little trouble _today_." The last word was hissed.

Sakura went white at the mention of yesterday's 'cooperation,' but found enough ire to hiss back, "It wasn't like I really had a choice."

"And you have no choice now," Madara said simply, seeming to compose himself again. "I would get out of this car _now_ or else you will face very…unfortunate consequences in the near future."

Sakura swallowed hard. "Like what? You're going to tie me up in a dungeon? I don't see how it can get worse than that."

Madara smirked at her. "It can get much, much worse."

Not liking the glint in his eye, Sakura didn't move. When five seconds passed and she still hadn't responded to his threats, Madara sighed melodramatically and moved closer to her. She inched away, but he snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her into him despite the seat belt. "You know," he whispered into her ear, causing her to tremble, "I've always wanted to make love in a car. It seems rather…exhilarating, hm?"

"No!" Sakura cried, immediately pushing herself away from him, but the seat belt that had aided her in the past now turned against her to keep her near him. His nimble fingers found the waistband of her jeans and began to dive underneath the cloth, foregoing her panties.

Madara suddenly glared at her. "If you don't want to lose your virginity like this, then you will exit the car _right now_."

"How did you know…" Sakura stopped herself, realizing that he'd probably seen all her medical charts as well.

"There is nothing I don't know," Madara replied, suddenly undoing her seat belt and yanking her out of the car in one swift, coordinated movement, opening the car door easily and then setting her on her feet with astounding strength.

Sakura hadn't even had time to cry out.

"Come now, little one," Madara said with a frown. "It is time for your punishment. I do not take well to disobedience."

"But-" Madara put a single finger over her lips.

"No buts. You will behave just as I tell you to, or you will make your life immensely more difficult. Now, _come_."

Sakura had no choice but to obey.

* * *

By the way, any of you artists out there! I would love some cover art for this story! Just PM me if you have anything I can use!

Cheers!

~Of Broken Love~


	9. Chapter 9

This one's short, but I have another chapter coming in the next few days! Hope this is good enough to last you!

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

**Anata no batsu ga hajimaru**

"**Your Punishment Commences"**

Sakura wasn't sure what was more unreal: the beauty of the house or the fact that it actually had an elevator.

She didn't have much time to observe, however, because Madara was dragging her by her wrist past all every staff member who worked at the house. One woman was carrying a tray with two glasses of wine on it, a man who seemed to be a butler was holding out his arms for Sakura's coat, and so on and so forth. Sakura tried to look pleadingly at them all, but Madara gave her little to no time for interaction.

It occurred to Sakura that she had truly angered her 'fiancé' and that she was in for a truly horrible night. She couldn't help but hope Madara would be gentle with her, but as he yanked her forcefully into the awaiting open elevator, she realized that she'd truly made a mess of her situation.

She felt the uncanny need to apologize, if only to lessen the intensity of her situation.

"I'm sorry," she croaked out weakly.

Madara looked at her from the corner of his eye, his expression giving away nothing but pure anger. "Not yet, you're not."

Sakura's blood ran cold.

Just how crazy was he?

* * *

When they arrived at his bedroom—which was no harder than exiting the elevator and then crossing the open door's threshold after passing through a singular hallway—Madara slammed the door shut behind and lazily pushed Sakura into the room. She stumbled before gasping, not comprehending how anybody could be this _rich._

The bedroom was at least the size of her apartment, if not larger. In the center was a king-size bed that immediately caught Sakura's attention. It had deep burgundy sheets with black accents, and the sheets neatly tucked under but partially visible were black. The amount of pillows on the bed was copious and probably not necessary for practical use, so it was obviously just meant to be lavish. It had four posters, definitely not in the traditional Japanese style, so Sakura decided that there must have been a use for them beyond just decoration.

It was this thought that sent shivers down her spine.

Eyes quickly straying from the bed, she tried to take in the rest of the room. It seemed Madara was allowing her to, as he wasn't pushing or pulling her in any direction. In fact, he seemed to have abandoned her, and so she was left to ogle the room in wonder, despite herself and her situation.

The walls were a calming beige color and the carpet a simple navy blue. To her left was a wide open space, occupied eventually by a mahogany table with two chairs. There was a small living space next to the dining setup, with two beige loveseats, a couch, and a recliner. It all had a very foreign feel to it—none of it was Japanese at all. She supposed that those who lived in wealth could afford foreign-culture living spaces—not that she approved in the slightest. Of course, she didn't approve of anything her begrudged _fiancé _did. It was not in her nature to appreciate those she hated.

Sakura had had enough of that side of the room, although she noticed that further along was a door to a probably enormous bathroom. She turned her head and saw that the wall facing the front of the building and to her immediate right was almost all window _and_ its curtains were drawn. This meant that Madara had possibly been waiting for her arrival—watching, even. He had intervened too conveniently for it to be otherwise, she decided. He might have been powerful, but he was not _all-powerful_.

"Like what you see, little one?"

Madara's voice startled her, as she had been lost in her thoughts after realizing that Madara had been spying…or waiting. It was the same thing to her in this case. She had jumped slightly when she heard him speak, but she tried to pretend that she had kept her composure the entire time and simply turned in the direction of his voice.

He wasn't there.

Sakura suddenly realized that because she hadn't kept track of him, she now didn't know where he was—or what he had been doing when she was distracted. But why wasn't he were his voice had come from? Panic filled her small body. She was about to whirl around when she felt Madara's hands grip her hips tightly, stilling her movements.

He had been _behind _her?

"How did you—"

"I'm fast, Sakura-chan, especially when you're not paying attention." There was a smirk behind his voice, even though she couldn't see it. For some reason, he was being awfully playful for having been so angry just moments ago. Wariness filled Sakura and she reminded herself of her situation. He was crazy, and she was betrothed to him. He could do whatever he wanted with her in that moment—

And she had no way of stopping him.

But wasn't it good if he wasn't angry?

Unless he was trying to lure her into a false sense of comfort.

Sakura's heart was pounding as she felt his nose brush against her hair and heard the deep breath he took. "You smell so lovely, Sakura…" She noticed he didn't use the teasing suffix this time and she shivered at the deepness of his voice, the way her name rolled off his tongue sensually. "Almost so lovely that I hate to spoil you…but punishment is given where punishment is deserved."

His grip, which had previously been firm but not entirely uncomfortable, now tightened to where it was painful. Sakura tried to bolt from him, feeling like a fish flailing in the grip of a shark.

"Please," she begged. "Please, I'm sorry." She hated that she had repeated her apology, but it felt like the right thing to do in this situation. She realized then that she needed to submit to him before he made forced her to. Maybe that would stop him from any sick games he might play.

"Saying you're sorry now is not going to make it go away," Madara chided. He spun her around so that she faced him. "If you had only cooperated, we would have spent a wonderful evening in the garden." He watched her as he spoke. "I would have even permitted you your own bedroom until the wedding. But now, I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on you."

Sakura's expression morphed from distrust to hope to total self-hatred. While she tried to convince herself that he was only saying these things to make her feel bad, the fact that there _could_ have been truth to his words made her feel terrible. What if she _had_ just cooperated? Would it really have been so bad, just to get out of the car?

She would never know now.

She searched his face for any lies but couldn't find any. Not that she suspected she would have been able to catch him in one, for being a businessman of his stature meant he _had_ to be a good liar, but she had to try.

Finally, she whispered, "You're lying. You would have never let me sleep in my own room."

Madara looked on at her with something akin to pride, his expression changing from serious to mocking. "I'm glad you're not so foolish as to have believed that, Sakura-chan." He was back to the mocking suffix again. "Hope is a dangerous thing for someone in your situation."

She was infuriated by the condescending expression on his face and the fact that he had so blatantly lied to her and then congratulated her when she hadn't taken him at face value. Without thinking much into it but unable to keep her mouth was working, Sakura spat at him angrily, "I thought in a marriage the husband and wife were supposed to trust each other. Apparently I'm wrong."

Madara didn't rise to the bait, which after hearing herself speak Sakura was thankful for. "I'm glad you've accepted that we're to be married. Now if only you could understand that in _our_ marriage, you don't actually have a choice whether you trust me or not. You _will _listen to me."

It seemed he had gotten fed up with the banter because he suddenly caught her chin and forced a kiss on her. She started to struggle, but he pulled her into his body and upon remembering that he _enjoyed_ her struggles, she stopped and simply let him kiss her. Disgust rolled over her body in waves but she knew now that there was nothing she could do to stop him, so the only thing she _could_ do was to try and make it as painless for herself as possible.

Madara guided her over to the bed, never ending the kiss. When her lower back hit the bed, as it was rather high, she stiffened. He forced her to lay back, however, after lifting her onto the bed.

It was then that she realized what he had been doing—or rather, getting—while she had been observing his room. He broke the kiss and then pulled out of his back pocket a length of cord.

"Your punishment commences now, Sakura," he said, and before she could fight back he grabbed her wrist and began to secure it to one of the posters.

* * *

As I said, another chapter coming soon, I promise!

Cheers!

~Of Broken Love~


	10. Chapter 10

**So this is something of a brutal chapter...but it's what the story is warned for. I'm really liking the ending of the chapter, it surprised me that I could be that cruel. Anyways, enjoy. Flamers will be ignored; always have been, always will be. But if you do flame, I appreciate it! You just make my story look more popular by adding more reviews! ;)**

* * *

**Chapter Nine:**

**Kowareta**

"**Broken"**

She was numb as he finished tying her to the post.

Nothing could have prepared her for being bound to the bed, unable to move other than her legs, which because of Madara's positioning were useless. He was in between them, like he had been on the couch in his office, making it so that there was absolutely no way she could kick him or fight him. The ropes on her wrists made sure there would be no struggling, and he kept her legs parted so widely that she was at a loss of what to do.

So she began to cry helplessly.

"Please," Sakura begged. "Please don't do this!"

Madara frowned, more expressive than usually. "Do I need to gag you as well, or will you behave like the good little girl you are?"

Sakura didn't answer, continuing to sob, although she kept her volume down.

"Much better," Madara commented, and began to undo her jeans' button and zipper before tugging them down, maneuvering in such a way that he could remove them without her being able to lash out at him.

Not that she would have. She was bound and defenseless and she knew that if she angered him, she would find herself in more trouble than she was already in.

Sakura noticed with horror that it was much too easy for him to take them off; the idea that they would be difficult to remove was immediately nullified. She realized then that there was no escaping Uchiha Madara's grasp once he'd set his eyes on something…or someone.

She wondered with dismay if that was going to be true after the divorce.

What could he possibly want her for, anyway? There was little she could think of that was special about her that would make her exceptional over other women he might have wanted. The obsession was unwarranted, as they didn't even know each other. Well, he knew her, but she didn't know him. What made her so special to have caught his eye? She couldn't think of anything at all. She didn't have money, power, fame…her father, the only family she had ever known, was barely getting by. She deduced that it had to be something to do with a trait she possessed, because she remembered the only time they had ever met. The memory had come to her clearly on the car ride to the mansion, but she didn't understand why it meant anything.

_Sakura and Sasuke had been paired as partners for a science project in the twelfth grade. She had finally realized that her fangirl obsession was more than an obsession; it was love. She had begun to play it cool and act more friendly than display her true feelings._

_They arrived at Sasuke's mansion and Mikoto had greeted them, telling Sasuke that the head of the clan was visiting. Sakura had bowed politely and they proceeded to the kitchen, where the man she know knew as Madara was speaking with Fugaku, Sasuke's father. Sakura had bowed to everyone, a little more deeply at Madara, as he had a regal air about him that clearly stated authority._

_Mikoto had given them two bentos in case they were too busy to come down to dinner. Madara had commented that the children should be present for dinner, and Fugaku had humbly agreed. Mikoto had taken the bentos back, put them in the fridge, and then Sasuke and Sakura bowed to everyone again before retreating upstairs to Sasuke's room._

_In the end, Kakashi had asked her to come home early because he was too ill at the time to cook dinner. Sakura had excused herself and apologized to Fugaku and Mikoto. Madara was taking a phone call and it would have been rude to interrupt, so she'd simply left and caught the earliest bus._

That was the only time she'd ever seen Madara until the day he had molested her. She'd met him in a public setting, said a polite hello, and never spoken to him again. It was such a miniscule memory that she hadn't thought she'd ever need to remember it, but with the current situation at hand it had popped up.

It only served to confuse her more.

Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt Madara part her lower lips and shove his finger inside her. She cried out, her body not ready, and tried to hold in her sobs so as to not be gagged.

It didn't take long for him to speak. "Same rules as last time, Sakura-chan. I am not feeling so merciful today, however, so your cooperation is imperative for things to end well for you."

Her hatred for him was so immense that it was no longer comprehensible. It was beyond her mind's capacity and in the moment, she felt it so deeply that she was numb to it.

Sakura tried to quell her feelings so that she could comply. She was scared into obeying him at this point; never before had she been tied up, not even in jest. She was very aware of how vulnerable she was and she simply wanted it to be over.

So she focused on the pleasure that was building. His finger was sliding in and out of her rhythmically. Once he found the bundle of nerves that had triggered her response the first time, he'd gone for it immediately and after she let her walls down, the walls that were meant to protect her from people like him, she felt the pain lessening and the pleasure fill her. She tried her best to keep her hips from bucking when his finger plunged in and out of her, hitting her so sweetly right where it felt the best, and she bit her lip to keep from moaning. For some reason, it wasn't _as_ bad this time…although that wasn't saying much, considering how terrible it had been the first time.

"Show me you are enjoying it," Madara growled. It occurred to her that he was old enough and had been with enough women to know if she was enjoying what he was doing, and yet she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Sakura's eyes were closed as she battled with herself, and then an idea came to her. She thought to envision Sasuke. Yes, it was Sasuke doing this to her. It was _his_ finger causing her this inexplicable pleasure, which was no longer forbidden because it was _Sasuke_ touching her.

Pretending it was Sasuke made the pleasure amp up even more so for her. She imagined his eyes, dark onyx and full of lust, staring at her naked body as he touched her, giving her this pleasure. She imagined to herself that she would want him to know she was enjoying it, thus creating the response she needed in order to follow the command she had been given.

"Mmm…" she moaned, allowing herself to buck her hips against his hand, increasing the pleasure tenfold. "Ohh…"

She heard a growl of approval from _the man, _as she had dubbed him, the person who was breathing heavily and merely _observing_ her and Sasuke. Any vocal sounds came from _the man_, but the pleasure and the touches were from Sasuke.

Sasuke…

The pleasure that was building reached a crescendo, suddenly bursting from her in an explosion. It was very unlike the time previous, because this was Sasuke, not _the man_ doing it to her. She let herself moan loudly, but as the finger inside her increased its pace and her orgasm reached its peak, she cried out a word that should have never left her lips, not in the company of _the man_.

"Sasuke-kun!"

The finger immediately pulled out, just eyes Sakura's eyes shot open, terrified of what would come next. Uchiha Madara was truly furious. She could see it in his eyes, a deep-set fury that would be impossible to abate. However, other than his murderous black orbs, there was no expression that betrayed his rage and he was devoid of any body language that would reveal his anger.

But his eyes said everything. They were the most terrifying set of eyes Sakura had ever seen.

However, when Madara spoke, he sounded calm, although his eyes said otherwise. "It's alright, Sakura. Close your eyes. Continue to imagine Sasuke."

"But I-"

Madara looked at her sharply. "Do not say a single word. Just think of your Sasuke-kun."

She looked at him, totally confused, and did not close her eyes.

"Close them, Sakura. I am being kind enough to you as it is. Do not ruin that."

Fearfully, Sakura closed her eyes, trying not to peek because if Madara caught her there would be no telling what he might do. She couldn't imagine what he might do to her while she was blinded by her own eyelids, but she would wait and listen.

Nothing happened for the longest time. It sounded like there was vaguely the rustling of clothing, and Sakura wondered if maybe he was moving her jeans off the bed—that was what it sounded like.

It was so quiet that Sakura was left with her frightened thoughts. What was he going to do? She wasn't going to think of Sasuke, not again. The fear was killing her.

Madara shifted on the bed and she suddenly felt the sharp tip of a knife tearing through the upper half of her clothing.

Madara caught her before she could open her eyes, placing his hand over them.

"Do not make me angry, Sakura," he said lowly. "Keep your eyes shut. Think about Sasuke, if you like."

Sakura was confused and terrified, but she genuinely felt the best option now was to obey. She stayed still as the rest of her clothing was cut off, leaving her completely naked.

Suddenly she felt a bare, naked chest touch her breasts, pressing them into her body. Sakura felt Madara in between her legs and she could feel the bareness of his thighs spreading hers as though trying to make her do the splits. The pressure on her chest alleviated, but the hand never left her eyes, keeping her from seeing what was going on.

Wait, was he going to-

"Now just think about Sasuke. Because I'm sure you know he would never do this to you."

Before Sakura even had a chance to react, the thick tip of an organ she had never seen outside of pornos—and she had only watched them once—was guided inside of her, just barely entering.

She froze, paralyzed by fear. No thought passed through her mind; she was a rock, blinded by terror.

Madara spoke once more, hissing at her menacingly, "Enjoy this, because Sasuke will never know you as I know you, although I'm sure he would love to. I will be the only man to ever live who will have you. Do you understand?"

Sakura couldn't respond, staring blankly into his hand.

"_Do you understand?_" He demanded vehemently, and without thinking Sakura nodded, still unable to form words. Her eyes were beginning to fill up with tears, but Madara kept them covered.

Suddenly, with terrible finality, Madara thrust all the way into her, hitting her cervix painfully.

But that did not begin to cover the agony of the tearing of her hymen. Regardless of whether he would gag her or not, she screamed horribly. He covered her lips with his and forced her to kiss him, his kiss demanding, authoritative, claiming.

As he began to thrust, wildly, brutally, like an animal, Sakura felt a little piece inside her break away and die. And then another piece, and another piece, until Sakura felt like she was broken in to tiny little lifeless pieces. She was too broken to scream anymore, to cry, or to even react at all. The pain in her heart easily rivaled the physical pain of her raping, and the combination of the two pains made her wish she would just die already and get it over with.

But she wouldn't do that. She was too strong to do that.

And yet, she wished she wasn't.

Madara had to be taking his sweet time hurting her because it seemed to go on for eternities. Finally, Madara finished, thrusting faster and harder and then pumped his seed inside of her. He collapsed on top of her, removing his hand and observing her lifeless eyes.

"I believe an apology is at hand," he said calmly.

Sakura couldn't look at him, instead continuing to stare at the ceiling. "For what?" she asked quietly, no defiance in her voice.

"A number of things, but namely, you've stained my bed with your blood."

He was rubbing it in, the bastard.

Sakura felt another piece break away and die, and she said quietly, "I'm sorry."

"You are forgiven." Madara moved over her and Sakura cringed, afraid he was going to go for round two, but instead he freed her hands. "There are several kimonos in your closet, which is to the left of mine. Wear the white one with the sakura petals. Take a shower first. If you need assistance, I will call Mikoto up to help you. She likes you, but I'm sure you're already aware of that."

Sakura had stopped breathing. "Why is Mikoto here?" She dared to make eye contact with Madara.

"I have invited Fugaku, Mikoto, and Sasuke over for dinner tonight. Unfortunately, Itachi is away at college in America, so he was unable to attend."

Sakura sat up suddenly. "No. No! You can't do this!"

"I believe you meant to say, "Thank you, my dear husband, for doing this kind favor for me and inviting my friends over for dinner." She knew now that Madara was simply being cruel to her.

"No, I didn't mean to say that!"

Madara ignored her. "And I thought you would be so excited to see your Sasuke-kun. You were thinking of him so fondly earlier, I'm unsure of what the problem is."

Sakura began to cry.

* * *

**I shouldn't be proud of this chapter, but I am.**

**Cheers!**

**~Of Broken Love~**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone!**

**So I've been writing a lot lately and since Chapter Eleven is near finished, I thought I might post Chapter Ten prematurely to make up for my inconsistent updating. Chapter Eleven is making my heart soar, so I hope you all look forward to that. But this chapter's pretty good, too.**

* * *

**Chapter Ten:**

**Ai No Kizuna**

"**Bonds of Love"**

"Okaa-san, I don't understand why we're here. I had to cancel with Miyumi." Sasuke asked, trying not to let his annoyance show as they sat in the dining room. He had had to cancel a date for that night because they had been invited to Madara's home for dinner, which he wasn't too happy about. At the same time, he knew that the date would have been miserable. Most of the girls were; that was why he moved immediately from dinner to sex, then to sleeping until the girl left in the morning.

He had needed a distraction from his thoughts of Sakura at the very least.

Mikoto smiled at her son. "This is a very special occasion, Sasuke. Madara has found a woman he wants to marry and has announced that she will bear an heir for the Uchiha clan. You should feel honored that we are the first family to be invited to meet her."

Sasuke nodded, but didn't quite understand. "Why us?"

At that, Mikoto faltered, although the smile never left her face. "I'm not sure. But we'll see soon enough."

Sasuke leaned against the dining room wall, not ready to take a seat yet. He was anxious. Something felt off about this, but he supposed that his father and Madara were relatively close. However, the butler had led them immediately to the dining room, stating that it would be about fifteen minutes until Madara and his bride were ready, leaving no time for menial conversation or greetings.

For some reason, Sasuke couldn't get the memory of his and Sakura's last conversation out of his head. She had left him with so many questions. How did she know of his…ways? He had specifically told Naruto not to tell anyone—although he hadn't mentioned Sakura particularly—and he made sure to date tourists or those from out-of-town, and on a bad day he would take a girl in from the outskirts of Tokyo. But he never touched anyone who Sakura might find out about.

Unless Naruto told her, which Naruto had vehemently denied after he got off the phone with Sakura, there was no way she should have known. His mother knew that he was 'looking for a girlfriend,' but she didn't know the extent of his activities and therefore could not tell anyone. Dating around, yes. Sleeping around, though, was not known to Mikoto and should not have been known to Sakura.

And then there was the disturbing sentence near the end of the phone call, only a few seconds before she'd hung up.

"_You don't understand! You have no I what I've been through with your-"_

"_With my what?"_

"_No one. Nothing."_ What she didn't know was that he'd heard her start crying just before she'd hung up.

His concern was acute, and he was actually very worried about her.

The butler returned a few minutes later, interrupting Sasuke's thoughts. "Pardon my rudeness, Uchiha-san," he said to Fugaku. "Would you or your family require any refreshments?"

Fugaku shook his head, then indicated for Mikoto and Sasuke to respond. Mikoto smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, some hot tea would be wonderful. Sasuke?"

Uncharacteristically, Sasuke ignored his mother and stared straight at the butler. Of course the butler would tell him. "Who is Madara-sama's wife?"

The butler looked at him, startled, before regaining composure. "Uchiha-sama has asked for me not to reveal that and leave it as a surprise."

Sasuke looked at the butler warily. "What's the big secret? It can't be that big of a-"

"Ah, Sasuke-kun. How fortunate it is to see you are well. You as well, Fugaku-san and Mikoto-san. Thank you for coming." The entire family bowed to Madara, but Sasuke took his time in complying. He kept his eyes on Madara the entire time.

Madara had waltzed in, a satisfied smirk on his face and his eyes alight with mirth. He looked different, Sasuke realized. He was not serious, instead playful, and his demeanor was much different than the last time he'd seen him. It was odd, seeing the usually dark, cold man look so…light. When Madara had addressed him, there had genuinely been no mockery, no sarcasm, which was usually expected from the dark-haired man.

Madara seemed…happy.

Sasuke watched him, unsure of this new Madara. Even when Madara was playing a cruel joke, the punch-line carefully hidden and his coldness suppressed, there was an air of falsity that gave Sasuke, personally, the creeps. He could always tell when Madara was up to something, even though he could never guess what it was and it always took him by surprise, no matter how hard he tried to figure it out. Madara was on a level of his own when it came to life; he was so superior to the world, to everything, that it gave him a larger-than-life attitude. What Sasuke found interesting was that despite Madara's arrogance, none of his opinions of himself were all that far from the truth. His grandiosity was well-warranted.

While Sasuke had stared and pondered what had changed Madara, the man in question was speaking quietly to Fugaku. Sasuke didn't pay attention, suddenly putting the pieces of the puzzle together to create the answer.

Madara was happy now that he had found his wife-to-be.

Personally, Sasuke was unsure of this revelation, but it made sense. He couldn't imagine anybody in the world who would make him so happy his demeanor would change. Who made him feel special, loved, cared for, happy, the way that Madara obviously was?

_Sakura_.

The name popped in his head unbidden, and no matter how he tried to force it down, he couldn't. The thought persisted, and suddenly he heard her sweet voice in his head, talking idly about how good the coffee she'd been drinking was, heard her voice telling him that she would rather be friends than nothing at all, that she was over him—and how that had hurt on a deep level he hadn't understood. He saw her pink hair, blowing in the wind on the gusty first day of college, her green eyes full of joy when she looked at him, the sad smile on her face when he'd confirmed that he would prefer to be her friend than anything else, that he would give her a chance to be his friend.

Unthinking, Sasuke picked up his phone, told his mother he had to call someone, and walked to the foyer. It was currently vacant of servants, so he was free to make his call. He tapped Sakura's number on the screen and put the phone to his ear.

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Ring._

By the fifth ring, Sasuke knew it would go to voicemail. Frustrated, he tried two more times, none of which were answered. Finally, he put his phone back in his pocket and went back to the dining room, for some reason furious.

How dare she ignore him!

He walked back into the dining room and noticed everyone was sitting down, although the wife-to-be still wasn't present. Sasuke sat down next to his father, while Mikoto sat across from Sasuke and left the seat to the right of Madara unoccupied.

Madara checked his watch, not a hair out of place as he frowned lightly. He looked up and smiled pleasantly—genuinely pleasantly, Sasuke noticed. "My wife-to-be should be here any minute now."

Sasuke noticed how Madara still hadn't said her name, instead referring her as his wife-to-be. It was suspicious, to say the least. He turned to Madara and asked politely, "One of the help told me he couldn't tell me her name. Who is she?"

Madara smiled at him and suddenly Sasuke had an unidentifiable, funny feeling in his gut.

"You'll see soon enough. Don't worry, I'm very sure you'll like her."

Sasuke tried to contain his annoyance and stared down at the empty plate in front of him.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Sakura had stared forlornly at her phone for the longest time, gazing at the three missed calls from Sasuke. He was here, in the dining room, Madara had told her, and Madara was going to go downstairs and greet 'their' guests. Had he told them already? She somehow felt as though that was something he would do. That was probably why Sasuke had called her three times, something which had never happened during her entire lifetime.

He knew, she was sure of it. And that was why she was standing in front of the elevator, delaying her trip downstairs.

She had dressed her best, exactly as Madara had instructed her. She had on black mascara, dark brown eyeliner to accentuate her green eyes, and lightly put blush on her pale cheeks. Sakura had forced herself to stop crying, to think of something else other than what had just happened or was happening, because she didn't want to think of what would happen if she ruined this for Madara. He'd punish her, and she was now convinced that he would find much more heinous ways to punish her than just rape. If that was the worst he could do, she knew she would learn to numb it out eventually. He also wouldn't have used his worst weapon on her so early; Madara was too smart for that.

Madara had strictly instructed her to smile and look happy, to lie to people she truly cared about. She wasn't sure how she was going to deal with Sasuke…it hurt to think that him seeing her with the head of his clan would ruin her chance with him forever, but she had to remind herself harshly that she hadn't had a chance anyway. All that Madara was doing was finalizing that. Sakura felt her eyes tear up, staring hard at the steel elevator doors, knowing that Sasuke was seeing other girls anyway.

Then why did this hurt so much?

Turning her heart into steel harder than that of the elevator door, she pressed the button to go down.

There were mirrors on the upper half of the walls in the elevator, and Sakura inspected herself. She had been surprised at how beautiful the kimono was. It had been simple and possible to put on by herself, but she had seen that Madara had picked other, more expensive and elegant kimonos, for other occasions.

It was a pure, milky white, and sakura blossom petals swept upwards from the bottom left side, heavily concentrated at the start and then thinning and separating as they moved upwards, as though a gust of wind was blowing them away. It was a beautiful article of clothing and Sakura thought how jealous her girlfriends at school would be, seeing her in this gorgeous kimono.

And then she reminded herself that it wasn't her kimono, and that the man who was letting her wear it had raped her not even an hour previous. She gripped the banister that ran around the middle of the elevator with a death grip, digging her nails into the wood. The pain almost served to distract her from the pain in her heart.

The elevator dinged and she stepped out. It was now or never. She walked through the halls, following the voices she heard.

Finally, she arrived. She stood in the doorway, visible to only Madara, and waited for him to notice her, as her voice had disappeared upon the approach.

The first thing she noticed as she waited was that Madara was different around Sasuke's family. He seemed warm, content, happy. He was talkative and seemed somehow genuine, like he wasn't waging a war on everyone around her. He wasn't the cold bastard who had brutally taken her-

_Don't you _dare_ think about that now._

She corrected herself, moving on to other topics in her mind. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of anything without tears creeping up to the corners of her eyes, so she stopped thinking and stared blankly, wondering if she should wave.

Nonetheless, it was not lost on her that something had changed with Madara. It _was_ lost on her of what could possibly have caused this sudden change.

She suddenly noticed that Madara had stood. He told the guests that he would be right back, and food would be served soon. Sakura's heart froze when he approached her.

"You will behave," he commanded, but not exactly coldly. Madara didn't smile at her, didn't show warmth, but at the same time, he wasn't cold or cruel to her. It was simply a command, an expectation. A mission she could not fail. Unfortunately, it felt a lot like the American movie _Mission Impossible_, and she knew she didn't have a director or a producer to save her from the result of failure.

"Yes, I will, Madara," she said quietly. He had told her to drop the honorific and simply call him by his given name, now that they were to be married.

Her insides were screaming as he took her hand and led her into the room.

"Fugaku, and Mikoto, I present to you my bride." Sakura felt her blood rushing in her ears at the quiet at the table. She watched Fugaku and Mikoto's reactions.

Secretly, Sakura had hoped that Mikoto would have seen through the façade she put up, but Mikoto stood with a genuine smile on her face and moved to embrace Sakura.

"Oh, Sakura-chan! I'm so happy for you!"

Sakura hugged her back, her heart breaking that the closest mother figure she'd had in her life knew nothing of her sorrow. When Mikoto released her, Fugaku stood and bowed to her. Sakura blanched, not understanding, and then she remembered Shisui's words. She would soon be married to the most powerful man in Tokyo and possibly Japan. Of course the stolid man would at least acknowledge her new-found power.

Sakura felt relieved, however, that Sasuke wasn't there. Maybe he hadn't come.

"Don't worry, Sakura," Madara said, mock-soothingly. "Sasuke-kun will return shortly."

Just as they were about to sit, Sasuke returned.

He froze.

Sakura looked at Sasuke.

Sasuke looked back at Sakura.

There was deafening silence.

Suddenly, Sasuke exploded.

"Madara, you fucking bastard!"

* * *

**Not even I was expecting Sasuke to react like that. He surprised me and I wrote it. So Sasuke's going through some major character change.**


	12. Chapter 12

**So, any of you reading Modus Operandi can tell I'm having a terrific day. Here's the next chapter of the Kill, which I personally love. =)**

**Yay!**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven:**

**Kanōdeareba jikkō suru**

"**Run, If You Can"**

The entire table was silent and in shock during the losing war Sasuke waged, seething at Madara. Mikoto was shocked and Fugaku was glaring as expressively as he could at Sasuke, but they said nothing as Sasuke ignored them. Sakura wasn't sure what was going on, or what to think, as she stood, frozen midway to sitting down. However, Madara calmly stood and motioned for Sakura to sit down. For a second, in which she couldn't breathe, couldn't think, she didn't respond, but warning bells went off in her brain and she slowly lowered herself down to her chair, folding her hands in her lap under the table, trying to stop them from shaking violently.

Madara was calm as the standoff with Sasuke continued, but Sakura knew that it wasn't going to go well for the man she loved. However, she was sure he would come to his senses eventually and so she stayed quiet, staring at the dish in front of her hard and bowing her head, although she was intently listening for any words that might be said.

Finally, Madara spoke. "Is there something wrong, Sasuke-kun, that would warrant your rude outburst?" The curiosity was false; Sakura could hear it in his voice. Madara knew something that he wasn't saying. He didn't sound even annoyed—he really didn't—and Sakura was immediately put on edge.

"You can't marry her! She's too young for you!" Sasuke growled in a low, gravelly voice that Sakura had never heard before. Then again, she'd never heard Sasuke get angry like this either.

Why was he so angry?

"She's twenty, Sasuke-kun, and legal. Age is no number to love."

At this, Sakura wanted to burst out in hysterical laughter, but stayed tight-lipped and refrained from doing so. She had to bite her lip from saying something. Madara was in power here and nothing Sasuke might do could change it.

Sakura felt Sasuke's eyes on her. "You love him?" he demanded, but there was something else in his voice…an undertone. It was odd, hearing it in Sasuke's voice, and definitely odd hearing it aimed at her.

He sounded desperate.

Sakura slowly lifted her head, knowing that was she would say next would dictate her future, for better or for worse. There was no good outcome for her; it was only more painful or less painful.

Because her life had always been painful, anyways.

She finally moved to speak. "I-"

"See!" Sasuke said triumphantly. "She doesn't love you! No one takes that long to say something like that! You know, we talked earlier today." Sakura's heart stopped beating in anticipation of what he was going to say, knowing that it couldn't be good. She hadn't been supposed to speak to him or Naruto, although Sasuke _had_ been the one to call her. However, she somehow knew that Madara would have expected her to not answer the phone.

She could feel Madara's eyes boring into her, but she couldn't look at him. "And what was said, Sakura?" he asked calmly, but she could feel rather than hear the fury in his voice. Oh, this was not going to be good. Fear rooted itself deeply, freezing her heart and making her want to vomit.

"Well," Sakura said in a monotone she adapted to in order not to give anything away, "We talked about-"

"We talked about you, but I didn't know it at the time," Sasuke said cruelly, although it was aimed at Madara. He didn't realize that he'd signed her death sentence. "She said that-"

Sakura did the only thing she could, in the interest of self-preservation.

"I do love him, Sasuke! Just shut up, you don't know anything! So I've found love; what are you going to do about it? It shouldn't matter to you, you've been with all those girls anyways! Find love on your own, but don't ruin my life in the process!"

The last part sounded like a plea more than anything. It was a code that he would obviously never figure out, but she'd said it simply: don't ruin _my life_. It wasn't don't ruin _my love_, it was don't ruin _my life_.

If he went any further with this, then she would be punished terribly, and she didn't know how she was going to live through that. Not after everything else. Torture came to mind, and she inwardly cringed, although she made sure that no emotion escaped onto her blank face. Hopefully Madara would forgive her transgression of speaking with Sasuke in return for her defense of him in this situation.

Her heart broke, not understanding why Sasuke looked so hurt. Why was this such a big deal? Unless…

She shoved down the horrible thought that maybe, just maybe Sasuke had similar feelings for her as she did for him. That he loved her the way she loved him.

And that now she would never be able to be with him, ever.

* * *

Sasuke was unused to this feeling, and his silence was proof of the turmoil he felt.

It was the worst feeling in the world. It wasn't anger, not even betrayal. Self-loathing was certainly present, because he realized that he'd lost something before he could even grasp it.

Sakura did not love him, not anymore.

The pain was overwhelming, centered in his chest. He felt as though his heart had been shattered, and it was all so new to him. All this time, he'd never thought Sakura would ever be with anybody else. She would always be there, next to him, waiting. He regretted ever turning down her feelings in the past, ever hurting her with his cold rejection and cruel words. He had pushed her away fully and now she was with someone, permanently, who would never let him reclaim her. Madara was in love with _Sakura_. She was the reason he was so happy. Sasuke knew that Madara did not believe in divorce and also that he was very possessive of his things, so why not his wife?

He'd fucked up so badly, and now it was tearing his heart into shreds while it was still beating.

But it didn't make sense. Why, if Sakura was so in love, was she staring at Madara fearfully? Why didn't she look elated or happy the way that Madara had? Why-

"But then Sakura, why were you crying when you hung up the phone on me?" he asked her brokenly, his voice a stranger to his own ears.

Before Sakura could open her mouth, Madara stepped in. "They were tears of joy, I'm sure," he stated primly. He looked at Sakura out of the corner of his eye and suddenly Sasuke felt uncannily afraid…but not for himself. It was the way Sakura was trembling, although it seemed only Sasuke noticed it, and the way that Madara was telling her something with his eyes that couldn't be good.

Sakura _was_ in trouble.

And it seemed there was little he could do to save her.

"Madara, I'm afraid I've lost my appetite," Sakura said meekly, her voice not her own. This was _not_ the Sakura he knew. "May I be excused?"

Madara raised an eyebrow, barely noticeable to anybody not paying deep attention. Mikoto and Fugaku were staring at Sasuke angrily, but he was watching Madara and Sakura.

"Yes, dear," he said. "I will send dinner up to the bedroom. Rest up. We will speak later."

The way Sakura exited the dining room a little too quickly confirmed Sasuke's fears. He waited and seated himself. His parents would not stop staring at him, but Sasuke knew what he needed to do, and set to it immediately.

"I apologize, Madara-sama. It was foolish of me to act that way," Sasuke said, trying to sound as genuinely apologetic as possible. "I was merely concerned for my friend."

Madara nodded sagely, but did not exactly accept, and motioned for the food to be sent. The cowed servant who had heard the conversation quietly entered bearing delicacies from around the world for dinner.

Suddenly, Sasuke sighed. "Madara-sama, please pardon my rudeness, but I forgot to wash my hands when I went to the restroom. I'll be right back."

Without allowing Madara to answer, he left, knowing that if Madara followed him on such a request, it would look suspicious. If he had nothing to hide, there would be no problem with him leaving.

What they didn't know was that he _had_ washed his hands and was on a different agenda entirely.

Sakura stumbled towards the elevator, sobbing and crying as quietly as she could. With a trembling hand, she reached to press the elevator button. She pressed it and it almost immediately dinged and opened.

Just before she was about to stumble into the small prison that would return her to the torture chamber called Madara's bedroom, a hand gripped her around her waist and covered over her mouth. Thinking it was Madara, she didn't scream, didn't struggle, and simply let herself be dragged away. She tried to pretend she hadn't been crying, instead donning a mask of quiet meekness.

Mid step, Sakura was released. She stumbled, looking to the ground. She couldn't look him in the eye. However, she quickly babbled out, fear filling her voice, "I'm sorry, Madara-sama, I didn't mean to talk to him! He called me, I'm sorry, please don't-"

"_Sakura?_"

She recognized Sasuke's voice and abruptly looked up at him, suddenly realizing her huge mistake. Terror filled her eyes. "Sasuke, you _have_ to go. He'll hurt—Please, just—"

Sasuke gripped her shoulders and shook her lightly, concern in his eyes. "Sakura! Stop! What's going on? Who will he hurt?"

Not believing that it was her saying these words, Sakura said, "I shouldn't be talking to you. Please, don't get me in anymore trouble! If he finds us—"

Sasuke was suddenly very quiet. Sakura was hyperventilating, not sure what to do. If she called for Madara, Sasuke would be in trouble, but what if he thought she had meant to find Sasuke? What if he blamed her? She couldn't, oh Kami this was bad! But what if-

"Sakura, you need to go to the police," Sasuke finally said. "You _have_ to. What has he done to you? This isn't the Sakura I know."

"What do you think that will do?" she hissed furiously. "He got me kicked out of school, is going to ruin my otou-san's job, and we don't even have enough money to prosecute! I've tried to say no, Sasuke-kun! It's not going to happen!"

Sasuke suddenly grabbed her hand, yanking her along with him. "Sakura, just be very quiet. What of that can you take off?"

Not understanding, Sakura looked at him. Suddenly she felt his calculating eyes on her body and she shivered, too afraid to feel lust but knowing that in any other circumstance she would have.

Roughly and quickly, Sasuke ripped off the outer two layers of the kimono and more until all she was wearing was a white slip. She was wearing house sandals underneath, since the elevator floor had been cold and she'd experienced enough discomfort for that day.

He quickly led her through several passageways that she didn't recognize until they were looking out on a garden. Sasuke slid open the screen door and gently pushed Sakura outside.

"Sasuke, where are we going?" she demanded. Meanwhile, he had pulled out his wallet and was counting the yen inside of it.

"I only have a little bit of money," he said, and he handed her most of the money in the wallet, including his credit card. Sakura stared at it numbly. "Catch the next train to Okinawa." He gave her precise, exact directions to the train station while she stared at him numbly. "Wait for me at the train station and don't talk to _anybody_. I'm going to tell Naruto and after dinner we'll take the next train. We'll see you probably around 10pm or so."

"Sasuke, I don't think-" She took a step back towards the house.

Sasuke pushed her three steps away from the house. "Trust me, Sakura. You're a strong girl. You can do this. Just wait for me and Naruto and seriously, _don't talk to anyone._ If anybody asks, make up a name."

"I don't…" However, Sakura had never heard him compliment her before, and it melted some of her fear. Nonetheless, she was hesitant.

"Go!" Sasuke said, shoving her until she was all the way out the door, then locking the door behind him so she couldn't get in except by the front door, which he knew she wouldn't do under the circumstances.

He walked back quickly to the dining room table, passing a servant along the way. The servant asked him why he was coming from the parlor and not the bathroom and Sasuke realized that Madara _had_ been suspicious. Sasuke said that he lost his way and slipped the destitute-looking servant the remaining wad of yen he had, which was rather formidable for the servant's class. Eyes widening, the servant nodded his head and quickly walked away, picking up a merry whistling tune along the way.

Dinner continued on as though nothing had ever happened.

* * *

**MUAHAHAHAHA! I'm hyper, and this chapter doesn't help that. I wish this could be a Sasu/Saku story, and I'm open to the idea, but probably not. Just saying.**

**Cheers!**

**~Of Broken Love~**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Twelve:**

**Bōdo-jō no Teki**

"**Enemies On Board"**

Initially, Sakura wasn't sure what to do with her newfound freedom. Should she listen to Sasuke and take the train station to Okinawa, or should she go home and see her otou-san? It was difficult to decide, but she quickly realized that the longer she stayed on the premises, the more time Madara would have to find her or for servants to see of her position and report her.

Luckily, she stole away from the mansion without a hitch. It was already very dark out, but the frequent lighting made it easier to navigate. She quickly made it through one of the gates sporadically placed around the fenced yard.

What made up her mind was that Sasuke and Naruto would be looking for her in Okinawa, so she knew she was obligated to go there lest they suspect that she had been recaptured. Gripping Sasuke's money tightly in hand, Sakura followed the directions given to her by the love of her life.

As she walked, she ignored the many odd stares she received, so lost in thought that she was only barely following the directions to the train station. She arrived at the train station and stood in line to buy her ticket. She suddenly realized something. They might ask for her ID, and if she didn't have it, they could possibly deny her passage. She quickly thought up of a plan.

However, they didn't. For some reason the woman at the counter looked at her very strangely and when it was time to ask for her ID, she hesitated and then said nothing, simply handing her the change and the ticket. Sakura was confused but very grateful, as it seemed Kami, who had been so absent as of late, had returned to protect her.

She lived in that blissful world for but a moment until she went to go use the restroom. Doing her business quickly, she went to go wash her hands. That was when she saw her reflection and knew that the woman had taken pity on her, not that she didn't need an ID.

Her green eyes were still red-rimmed from crying after the dinner incident, and after the day's events, she looked haggard and strained. Her face was pale from fear, as she knew that if she was ever caught the repercussions would be terrible and she also knew that Madara would find a way to torment her no matter where she was.

It made her wonder if this was a good idea.

Then again, what choice did she have? If she came in, an hour or possibly more later, through the front door—she'd never be able to find her way back well enough to come in the way she came and hide this from Madara, nor did she truly want to—Madara would quite possibly break her. She wasn't sure what else he could do to her, but she knew there was always something in his arsenal and she wasn't about to go back and find out.

Maybe, just maybe this would work out.

With that thought, hope returned. She _would_ get through this. Sasuke had even said it, in some misplaced sort of compliment that couldn't _really_ have come from the Sasuke she knew. She was a strong girl, and she would get through this.

She checked for her train's departure time and made her way to the boarding area just as the train pulled up. Sighing, she presented her ticket and boarded the train, determined to sleep her way to Okinawa. The rest would be decided when Sasuke and Naruto arrived.

If she was so strong, she wondered, then why did her chest ache so horribly, even when things might just be about to turn around?

* * *

Sasuke was pleased that the departure from Madara's went by without issue. He'd taken his own car and sped away as soon as they said their farewells, his parents not saying a word about his shameful attitude. Mikoto had been concerned while Fugaku had been furious, but they hid it well until after dinner and by then Sasuke was already gone.

He dialed Naruto's number and praised the fact that Naruto answered at the first call.

"What's up, teme?" he asked.

"Meet me at the train station by the Uchiha compound," Sasuke said immediately. "Leave now."

"Whoa, whoa! What's going on?" Naruto demanded, freaked out by his best friend's overly expressive tone.

"I'll explain everything as soon as you get there. Hurry. Now."

"But teme-"

"_Seriously,_ Naruto. This is serious." Sasuke sighed. "We need to save Sakura."

"WHAT?"

"I said-"

"NO! What the hell, teme! What's wrong with Sakura! Is this why she hasn't been to coffee with us? What the hell! Is she okay? Where is she! I swear, if you hurt her-"

"I'm the one helping save her, dobe," Sasuke said angrily. Naruto was quiet, obviously surprised to see Sasuke so…emotional. "I need your…" Suddenly, Sasuke couldn't get the word out. "Just meet me at the train station," he finished gruffly.

"Haha! Teme needs my help!" Naruto gloated, but soon sobered up. "I'll be there in fifteen. I don't live too far from there, so I'll see you soon."

"I'm going to be there in five. Hurry, if you can. Sakura's already on her way to Okinawa."

"Teme, I—wait, WHAT!"

Sasuke hung up the phone.

* * *

Madara strode to the elevator and stepped inside calmly. He couldn't say he wasn't angry with Sakura for speaking to Sasuke, but she had willingly stopped Sasuke's annoying although quite warranted tirade, an action which he knew he could not ignore. It was a nice thought to think; that the words she'd said so convincingly at dinner might one day be true.

No. They _would_ one day be true.

He was determined not to take her tonight the way he had taken her earlier. While he could easily resort to violence and had no qualms about it, he knew that it was only, in the end, pushing her away.

It was a change of thought process for him. All he'd known when this plan was first put into place was that he wanted her for himself. Now, he knew that she would have to eventually love him for him to get his way. Even if it was love laced in fear, he would accept that. As long as she gave herself to him, body, mind, and soul, they would not have any problems.

So when he entered _their_ bedroom and didn't see her immediately, he stopped himself from becoming furious instantly, as it was quite likely she was in the bathroom. Madara scowled. The shower was not running, and there was no steam coming from the cracked door, so he immediately knew something was wrong.

After fully searching his room in the places where she could be without repercussion, he knew she was going to be in more trouble than she could ever imagine.

He called up one of the help to search the room for her, in the closets and whatnot where she could be hiding from him. She was nowhere to be found.

Sakura was gone.

* * *

Naruto was tapping his foot impatiently against the flooring, annoying Sasuke to no end. Sasuke knew he was doing it on purpose because Naruto was angry Sasuke wouldn't spill until the train left. The seats of the train were comfy but definitely not very spacious, and Naruto and Sasuke were crammed next to each other and a girl they didn't know was up against the window in the third seat. Finally, the train departed with a loud, drawn-out hoot on its horn, and Naruto jumped immediately in Sasuke's face…which was a little easier than he'd apparently expected, as Sasuke couldn't move his face back. As a result, it looked like they almost kissed. The woman next to them looked at Sasuke with mild interest and he pushed his idiot friend out of his face before ignoring her.

"Don't do that, dobe. You're going to make us look like a gay couple."

"Just tell me what's going on and I'll stop!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, glanced at the woman next to him to make sure she wasn't listening, and then turned to Naruto.

"So, you know how Sakura disappeared for a little while?"

"Duh," Naruto said, urging Sasuke to continue.

"I think…I think she was being courted by my relative, Uchiha Madara, and-"

"WHAT!" Several people turned around and looked at Madara. It was late and he was being loud.

Sasuke punched Naruto none-too-lightly. "Naruto, shut your mouth and just listen."

Glaring daggers but also giving a somewhat victimized look, Naruto nodded.

"I don't think she was doing it of her own accord. Maybe at first," Sasuke speculated. He still wasn't too sure what was going on with Sakura; he needed to ask. "But remember that time that I called her and told you she was in trouble?"

Naruto nodded, physically pressing his lips together not to speak and Sasuke could have hit him. The blond looked like such an idiot it was unbelievable, but whatever it took to keep him quiet was okay in Sasuke's book.

"I was invited to dinner at Madara's today, and found out that Sakura is his intended," Sasuke continued. "But she didn't seem happy. She was scared of him. I caught her on the way out, tried to talk to her but she was too afraid. I had to basically shove her out of the house to get out of Tokyo. I think that-"

"HE'S ABUSIVE! I'M GOING TO KILL THAT ASSHAT! OOOH, WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THAT BASTARD I'M GONNA-"

Naruto noticed that the rest of the train had gone quiet and he shut up immediately. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Unfortunately, you took the words straight out of my mouth. It's too bad you did. Now you sound like a dobe _and_ a maniac."

"Whatever," Naruto said, resuming his anger, but he kept his voice down. "I'm going to kill him for doing that to Sakura-chan."

"Do you mean Haruno Sakura?" asked the woman next to them, leaning over with interest. Before Sasuke could stop him, Naruto nodded eagerly.

"Yeah! She's my best friend! We're going to Okinawa to-"

This time, Sasuke literally punched Naruto in the face to shut him up. He looked at the woman, taking her in.

She was older, with short, boyish red hair in a pixie cut and tan skin. Her brown eyes were glittering with interest, but somehow Sasuke didn't feel too sure about her. He innately didn't trust her. She wore a casual brown business suit and chocolate brown high heels.

What was worst of all, she seemed familiar, but he couldn't place her face.

"Why _are_ you going to Okinawa?" the woman asked politely. "It's pretty late and you two seem to be from Tokyo." She motioned to Naruto's Tokyo University sweatshirt. "I didn't know that school was out of session."

"Our friend-"

Sasuke shot Naruto a withering glare and he shut up.

"Just to sight see. My relative's getting married," Sasuke shot Naruto a dark glare, "in a little bit and we're scoping out Okinawa to see where he should have his honeymoon."

The woman's eyes lit up. "Oh, great! Me too! My boss is getting married to a beautiful young lady and I'm doing the same thing." She smiled, but it didn't seem innocent. Sasuke had a bad feeling about her.

Sasuke turned to her. "How do you know Sakura?" he asked, trying to sound curious.

"Just heard of her," the woman said simply, not giving away anything. "How do you know her?"

"She's out best friend," Naruto said proudly, but gratefully said nothing more, hearing Sasuke's lie.

"Well, that's good to know," the woman smiled.

Sasuke nodded, and began to turned away, when the woman held out her hand in a very Westernized way.

"Oh, by the way, it's nice to meet you two. My name is Takahashi Ume."

The smile she gave was no longer friendly.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Thirteen:**

**Keikoku**

"**Warning"**

Takahashi Ume stood in the train's bathroom, cellphone pinned to her ear.

"She's gone."

"The little blossom escaped?"

"Indeed," he growled, fury etching his voice.

There were few points in time where Takahashi Ume had much of an option with anything concerning her boss. Uchiha Madara was incredibly cunning, not to mention overwhelming, and his attitude was acutely 'My way or the highway.' So when she was presented with the ability to make a choice—help Madara or not—she really wasn't sure what to do.

Of course, she already knew that Sakura had escaped, and had deduced that she was in Okinawa. She had no idea where, but having the location would make things a lot easier. If she told him, she would likely be rewarded greatly if she asked, and things would go smoothly. If she didn't tell him, and he found out that she'd known, there would be grave consequences. It really was a no-brainer.

And yet…for some reason, Ume didn't feel like telling her boss where the 'little blossom' was.

After Madara had dismissed her, she'd unfortunately been quite curious as to what would happen when they were alone, so she had taken the time to wait outside the door. If she'd been caught, she would have told him that she was just ensuring that Sakura didn't escape. However, Sakura didn't escape. She had only stayed about ten minutes before figuring that Madara had everything under control when she'd heard the muffled scream. All thoughts of leaving had vanished and she'd continued to listen.

The sobs and cries of the young girl didn't go unheard, and Ume knew that she'd made a horrible mistake.

So now, given all this information that was whirling around her head, it was still a no-brainer.

"How are you going to find her?" Ume asked pleasantly.

"I want you to begin a search party. Tell the police that my bride has been kidnapped and get them on it. Then, you are to scope the surrounding areas for anywhere she may have gotten. I would suggest starting with the prefectures surrounding Tokyo; she'll have run as far as possible."

"Will do, Madara-sama," she said calmly. She would protect Sakura by diverting them from Okinawa. It would be easy, spinning the right lies.

"Oh, and call her father. Tell him that his daughter's gone missing and that he is to help with her rescue party."

"Of course, Madara-sama."

"I will speak with you later. Keep me updated."

"Yes. Good night."

The dial tone buzzed in her ear and Ume could only wonder if she had made the right choice. This was putting a great deal of her life at risk—career, financial stability, insurance, and basically her lifestyle—all for a little girl who shouldn't have been involved with Madara in the first place. She knew that there was nothing she could do to stop Madara's destructive ways, but perhaps saving this young woman from him was a step in the right direction.

Scratch that previous thought.

She'd definitely made the right choice.

* * *

Sakura sat at the bench by the train station, fiddling with the hem of her partial kimono. It was a little past ten and there was still no sight of Sasuke or Naruto anywhere. She was slowly but surely freezing up with panic that maybe they'd gotten held up by Madara, or that Madara had figured it out and was sending people after her right now, or—or—oh, there were so many things that could have gone wrong!

She tried to ease her mind by telling herself that the train was just late. She had seen a couple of trains pull in, but after they'd emptied there was still no sign of her friends.

She waited and waited, until about 10:20pm, before she thought she'd probably need to find a hotel for the night. She still had Sasuke's credit card, and he'd given it to her to use, so that meant if she found a little motel that wasn't too expensive, she'd be able to at least rest easy for a night.

Although, given that she was on the run, that didn't seem like a likely scenario.

Suddenly, a train rolled into the station and Sakura couldn't help that hope it was Sasuke and Naruto. She moved from her bench and walked over to where the train had arrived and watched at passengers poured out. She found little relief as she didn't see them, and was shocked with terror as she saw a familiar crop of red hair come off the train.

Takahashi Ume exited and as she looked up, she caught eyes with Sakura. She made her way over and Sakura began to back up, but Ume smiled in a way that Sakura could tell wasn't normal for her—it was a smile of reassurance—and Sakura was stunned into staying still.

"Hello, Sakura-san," she said politely.

"D-did _he_ send you?" Sakura asked fearfully, taking a step back. She wasn't one for formalities.

"He would have if I hadn't lied to him," Ume replied with a cheeky grin.

Sakura looked at her in shock. "Wh-what?"

Ume did not elaborate. "There will be people after you for a while, perhaps a long while. He's been collecting information on your for years," she said quietly. Sakura felt sick at the confirmation of how crazy Madara was. "He is sending your father after you. I know you trust your father, but if you see him, _do not_ speak to him. I am commissioning the search parties; I will be sending your otou-san and one of my friends from the police station here. Madara-sama has requested that Hatake-san be sent, so I will send him here with a police friend of _mine_," the implication was obvious; her police friend was _not_ a friend of Madara's, "here, simply so there is no suspicion that Okinawa has been overlooked. If you see him, you may make eye contact. He will want to know you are safe. I do not know how much I can trust Yamato, however, so once you make eye contact and he knows you are alright, leave immediately."

Sakura nodded numbly, not understanding why Ume was helping her.

"Stick to the better parts of town, if you can help it," Ume said, concluding her helpfulness. "The police will believe you've been kidnapped—only your father will know the truth—and they'll expect you to be in the slums somewhere, or in a very rich area. They most likely won't look into decent but not extravagant hotels, as that will be the clues I give _all_ of them, including your otou-san and Yamato. Got it?"

"Yeah," Sakura said, her pale face betraying her fear.

"Good. I hope to never see you again, Sakura-san." At this, Ume began to walk away.

"Wait! Takahashi-san!" Sakura called. "Thank you!"

Ume simply looked back and winked before continuing on towards the road.

* * *

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!" called Naruto gleefully, grabbing her attention. The blond boy, full of life, bounded towards her, and Sakura's face broke out in a grin.

"Naruto-kun," she said happily, readily accepting his embrace. Sakura closed her eyes and sighed, relishing in the warmth of his hug and his strong arms around her. With Naruto, she genuinely felt safe.

Naruto pulled back and Sakura looked at him with a small smile. "Sasuke-teme told me everything," he said, growling lowly. "You're never going to have to worry about that bastard again!"

Sakura looked at him sadly, her heart clenching painfully at the thought of Madara and surprisingly, at the thought of Sasuke, as well. "Let's hope that's true," Sakura replied. Her eyes wandered behind Naruto and she saw Sasuke standing off to the side. Somehow, he seemed a little put off, but she wasn't sure by what.

He walked up to her. "How are you?"

"Fine," Sakura replied, trying not to feel nervous. "Thank you for…helping me," she said softly. She looked up at both of her friends. "I hope this doesn't get you two in trouble."

"Eh, we'll handle it," Naruto said with a grin. "I don't care who he is, he doesn't have any right to treat you like that!"

Sakura, despite herself, raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know how he's been treating me? I mean…I haven't told you anything."

Naruto shrugged. "We figured it out. Sasuke told me what he saw and we just kind of pieced it together, I guess."

Sakura smiled in relief. So she _wouldn't_ have to go into detail about everything that had happened. She wouldn't want them to know that Madara had raped her. That would have been…too much.

"Well, we'd better move to get to some kind of hotel or something," Sasuke said calmly. "Madara has definitely figured out you're gone by now."

Sakura piped up. "He _does_ know I'm gone. He's sending out search parties everywhere. My otou-san and a police man named Yamato are going to be coming to Okinawa. We need to stay in normal hotels, nothing too fancy but nothing too shabby either."

Sasuke looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "And…you know this how?"

Sakura blushed at Sasuke's scrutinizing look, but hid it easily by turning to Naruto. "We have an ally, I think. I don't know if she's working with Madara or not in secret, but she seemed genuinely helpful and gave me a bunch of warnings."

"Who?" Naruto asked curiously.

"A woman who works for him. I don't know why she chose to help me, but she did. Her name is Takahashi Ume."

"WHAT?!" Naruto cried.

"Hey, kids, it's going to rain soon. You'd better get to your lodgings," a kindly looking security officer said.

"Right, sir! Thank you very much," Sakura said quickly, while Sasuke and Naruto nodded. She could only hope that he wouldn't remember her if Ume had been lying. It didn't seem like she had been, but Sakura wasn't going to play around at this point.

They began to walk towards the road. Lining the street were multiple choicely-placed hotels, as this was right by the train station.

They chose an American hotel, a Best Western, and lodged for the night under an extended-stay plan, so they wouldn't have to worry about getting kicked out anytime soon. Sasuke used the ATM outside the building to withdraw cash with his ATM card so that they couldn't be tracked through credit card statements. Sasuke had explained that his parents would find out about it from Madara and would most likely be used to find her, whatever the excuse being for Sakura's disappearance. He withdrew the entire account's savings—which was a lot—and Naruto bought a suitcase from the gift store to store the money. They had been lucky; the gift store closed at 11pm.

Along the way, Sakura told Naruto and Sasuke about Ume and what had happened, and Sasuke explained to her that they had met her on the train over and that Ume had been scouting for honeymoon spots.

As they rode the elevator to their floor, number seven, it was silent. Suddenly, Sasuke's phone began to ring.

"Shit, it's my okaasan," he said with a low growl.

"Don't answer it!" Naruto commanded. "If you answer she might figure out where you are?"

"And how would she do that, dobe?" Sasuke demanded.

"I agree, Sasuke-kun, it's a bad idea," Sakura replied quietly.

"Fine," Sasuke said, before clicking the decline button.

They exited the elevator and made their way to their room. After settling in, Sakura took on of the doubles and fell into a deep sleep, unable to worry about much of anything.

She'd worried too much already. Things couldn't get much worse, could they?

But she knew they could.

* * *

**I struggled with this chapter, but I'm going to keep trying to update. Thanks for your patience!**


	15. A Change of Pace

Hey everyone!

Yes, this is the dreaded author's note update. Because of problems with FanFiction and my overall rebellious hatred of all things moderated, I am moving my current stories to a blog I have recently created SPECIFICALLY for my fanfiction. Here, I will post (and continue) all the stories I intend to continue, as well as new ones. So far, a revamped Chapter One of Modus Operandi is posted. I will be updating as soon as possible. The Kill is also on my intended to update list.

You can find more information on the site!

The domain is ofbrokenloveofficialwebsite . com. Hope you all visit and leave me lots of comments!

Cheers!

~Of Broken Love~


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